The chain‐breaking antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds with different numbers of O‐H groups as determined during the oxidation of styrene

The technique based on monitoring oxygen consumption was applied to test 18 polyphenols (PP) and model phenolics as a chain‐breaking antioxidant during the oxidation of styrene initiated by 2,2′‐azobis(2,4‐dimethylvaleronitril) at 37°C. The chain‐breaking capability of PP was characterized by two parameters: the rate constant k 1 for the reaction of antioxidants with the peroxy radical produced from styrene and the stoichiometric coefficient of inhibition, f , which shows how many kinetic chains are terminated by one molecule of PP. Rate constants k 1 × 10 5 (in M −1 s −1 ) were found to be 10 (catechol), 27 (pyrogallol), 34 (3,6‐di‐tert‐Bu‐catechol), 4.3 (protocatechic acid), 12 (gallic acid), 15 (caffeic acid), <0.01 (chrysin), 1.3 (kaempferol), 19 (quercetin), 5.3 (baicalein), 16 (epicatechin), 32 (epigallocatechin), 9.0 (dihydroquercetin), 3.3 (resveratrol), and 16 (nordihydroguaiaretic acid). The value of k 1 increases when going from one to two and three adjacent O‐H groups in a benzene ring (catechol and pyrogallol derivatives, respectively). At the same time, two O‐H groups in metaposition in a A‐ring of flavonoids actually do not participate in the inhibition. For the majority of PP, f is near to 2 independent of the number of OH groups. The correlation of k 1 with the structure of PP and the OH bond dissociation enthalpy has been discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 41: 92–100, 2009