Free radical scavenging ability of some 5-aminosalicylic acid derivatives

Theories explaining the clinically proven efficacies of 5-aminosalicylic acid and its derivatives sulfasalazine and olsalazine in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease have invoked the neutralization or scavenging of reactive free radicals. This is a preliminary study comparing the relative scavenging abilities of these 5-ASA derivatives towards the stable free radicals 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and galvinoxyl with several compounds including phenols, acetaminophen and vitamins C, K and E which have well documented antioxidant and radical scavenging capabilities both in solution and in biological systems.