Cis/trans ISOMERIZATION OF CAROTENOIDS BY THE TRIPLET CARBONYL SOURCE 3-HYDROXYMETHYL-3,4,4-TRIMETHYL-1,2-DIOXETANE*

Abstract— The interaction of biological carotenoids with 3-hydroxymethyl-3,4,4-trimethyl-1,2-dioxetane (HTMD), a thermodissociable source of electronically excited ketones, was investigated using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Incubation of the all-trans isomers of β-carotene, lycopene and canthaxanthin with HTMD led to significant trans-to-cis isomerization, with cis isomers accounting for 20–50% of products formed (the balance assigned as oxidation products). The isomers forming from all-trans-β-carotene were identified as 9-cis-, 13-cis- and 15-cis-β-carotene by cochromatography of cis isomer standards and by on-line diode array absorbance spectroscopy. An HTMD-dependent cis-to-trans isomerization was observed in incubations started with 15-cis-β-carotene, and it occurred more rapidly and to a greater extent than the isomerization of all-trans-β-carotene. The isomer patterns generated from lycopene and β-carotene are generally similar to those reported recently for various human tissues (Stahl et al, 1992, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 294 , 173–177).