Chromanol methyl radical

The occurrence of a 5a-C-centered tocopherol-derived radical 10, often called chromanol methide radical or chromanol methyl radical, had been postulated in literature dating back to the early days of vitamin E research,12 19 which have been cited or supposedly reconfirmed later (Fig. 6.5).8,20-22 In some accounts, radical structure 10 has been described in the literature as being a resonance form (canonic structure) of the tocopheroxyl radical, which of course is inaccurate. If indeed existing, radical 10 represents a tautomer of tocopheroxyl radical 2, being formed by achemical reaction, namely, a 1,4-shift of one 5a-proton to the 6-oxygen, but not just by a shift of electrons as in the case of resonance structures (Fig. 6.5). In all accounts mentioning... 

Both the presence of methyl substituents in the tocopherols and their chromanol structures increase the ability of these compounds to form relatively stable radicals.498 499 This ability is doubtless probably important also in the function of ubiquinones and plastoquinones. Ubiquinone radicals (semiquinones) are probably intermediates in mitochondrial electron transport (Chapter 18) and radicals amounting to as much as 40% of the total ubiquinone in the NADH-ubiquinone reductase of heart mito-... 

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