Radical scavenging reactions of chlorogenic acid: A pulse radiolysis study

At near neutral pH (approx. 5.5), the OH-adduct of chlorogenic acid (CGA), formed on pulse radiolysis of N₂O-saturated aqueous CGA solutions (λ _max = 400 and 450 nm) with k = 9 × 10⁹ dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹, rapidly eliminates water (k = 1 × 10³ s⁻¹) to give a resonance-stabilized phenoxyl type of radical. Oxygen rapidly adds to the OH-adduct of CGA (pH 5.5) to form a peroxyl type of radical (k = 6 × 10⁷ dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹). At pH 10.5, where both the hydroxyl groups of CGA are deprotonated, the rate of reaction of · OH radicals with CGA was essentially the same as at pH 5.5, although there was a marked shift in the absorption maximum to approx. 500 nm. The CGA phenoxyl radical formed with more specific one-electron oxidants, viz., Br ₂ ^·− and N ₃ ^· radicals show an absorption maximum at 385 and 500 nm, k ranging from 1–5.5 × 10⁹ dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹. Reactions of other one-electron oxidants, viz., NO ₂ ^· , NO^· and CCl₃OO^· radicals, are also discussed. Repair rates of thymidine, cytidine and guanosine radicals generated pulse radiolytically at pH 9.5 by CGA are in the range of (0.7–3) × 10⁹ dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹.