OH radical oxidation of the sorbitylfurfural furanic ring to sugar derivatives induced by radiolysis in aerobic environment

Chemical radiolytic oxidation induced by OH addition on 1-(2-furan-2-yl-5-hydroxy-6-hydroxymethyl-[1,3]dioxan-4-yl)-ethan-1,2-diol (sorbitylfurfural, SF) leads, in the presence of controlled amounts of oxygen, to a permanent functional modification of the target molecule. The yield of conversion reaches 60% of the starting material. LC-MS analysis allowed the identification, as final products, of carboxylic acids, butenal and hydroxy-furan derivatives in which the sugar chain remains unbroken, while the furanic ring is attacked first by OH and then by oxygen, giving in succession an intra-/inter-molecular rearrangement of the allylperoxyl radicals thus formed. The proposed oxidation of the furanic ring envisages the peroxyl intermediates undergoing mono- and/or bi-molecular reactions; a reaction path has been outlined and is reported here. The presence of unsaturated bonds in the final products could provide a further site for radical scavenger activity. Therefore, the fast reaction with O₂ and the rearrangement of the produced peroxyl radicals to species, which are likely to be effective OH-capturers, reinforces the antioxidant ability of SF.     

The antioxidant reactivity of sorbitylfurfural towards potential harmful radicals,studied by radiation chemistry techniques

Ionising radiations, employed in a broad range of dose-rate, together with a complex non-linear computation of reaction mechanisms, allow the determination of boundary values of rate constants concerning sorbitylfurfural (SF) reactivity towards a wide series of oxidant and/or virtually harmful radicals. SF reacts with some radicals (H, SO₄^-˙, CO₃^-˙, Br₂^-˙, CH₃˙), produced with both pulse and stationary radiolysis in neutral aqueous solution, having electrophilic and/or oxidative behaviour. The rate constants range from diffusional (k = (7-9) × 10⁹ M^-1 s^-1) to relatively low values (k = 2 × 10⁵ M^-1 s^-1). The possibility to observe these reactions, by means of radiolytical techniques, is heavily influenced by dose-rate. A relation between the radical E⁰_NHE and their reactivity with SF is hinted.