Regeneration of β-carotene from the radical cation by tyrosine and tryptophan

Hong Cheng, Rui-Min Han, Ming-Kuan Lyu, Jian-Ping Zhang, Leif Horsfelt Skibsted

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The phenolic amino acid tyrosine (Tyr) was found more efficient in regenerating β-carotene (β-Car) from the radical cation (β-Car•+) than tryptophan (Trp) in the presence of base for conditions where the reduction potentials for Trp and Tyr are comparable. Electron transfer from Tyr in 4:1 chloroform/methanol to β-Car•+ in the presence of excess base, (CH3)4N+OH-, had a rate close to diffusion control and a second-order rate constant in agreement with the Marcus theory for electron transfer when compared to plant phenols. A maximum of 40% β-Car was regenerated for ten times excess of Tyr as studied by 532 nm laser flash photolysis followed by transient absorption spectroscopy in the visible and near-infrared regions. The nonregenerated fraction of β-Car is assigned to secondary degradation processes. For Trp, the rate constant for regeneration of β-Car•+ was 1 order of magnitude smaller compared to Tyr and slower than expected from Marcus theory by comparison with plant phenols.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry Part B: Condensed Matter, Materials, Surfaces, Interfaces & Biophysical
Volume119
Issue number22
Pages (from-to)6603-6610
Number of pages8
ISSN1520-6106
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Jun 2015

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Regeneration of β-carotene from the radical cation by tyrosine and tryptophan'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this