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The relationship between the structure and the antioxidant activity of 21 hindered phenolic compounds was investigated by Rancimat and DPPH· tests. 3-Tert-butyl-5-methylbenzene-1,2-diol is the strongest antioxidant in the Rancimat test but not in the DPPH· test because its two hydroxyl groups have very strong steric synergy. 2,6-Ditert-butyl-4-hydroxy-methylphenol exhibits a strong antioxidant activity as 2,6-ditertbutyl- 4-methoxyphenol does in lard. 2,6-Ditert-butyl-4- hydroxy-methylphenol also exhibits stronger activity than 2-tert-butyl-4- methoxyphenol. The methylene of 2,6-ditert-butyl-4-hydroxy-methylphenol can provide a hydrogen atom to active free radicals like a phenolic hydroxyl group does because it is greatly activated by both the aromatic ring and hydroxyl group. Five factors affect the antioxidant activities of the phenolic compounds: how stable the phenolic compound free radicals are after providing hydrogen atoms; how many hydrogen atoms each of the phenolic compounds can provide; how fast the phenolic compounds provide hydrogen atoms; how easily the phenolic compound free radicals can combine with more active free radicals, and whether or not a new antioxidant can form after the phenolic compound provides hydrogen atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of two lipophilic derivatives of the natural phenol, gallic acid (GA), synthesized using methyl gallate as starting material was investigated. The antioxidant activities of these novel phenolics compared to GA, tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) were evaluated in bulk oil, emulsion and the DPPH systems. The results showed that the new compounds effectively delayed lipid oxidation much better than GA and other antioxidants under Rancimat (100-140 °C) and emulsion tests. In the bulk oil system at 65 °C, they still behaved better than GA, but TBHQ had the highest activity. Thus, replacing the electron-withdrawing carboxylic group on GA by covalently linking sterically hindered phenols to its phenyl ring increased its lipophilicity and also resulted in synergistic effects which improved overall antioxidant activity through stabilization of the phenoxy radical. These new antioxidant variants satisfy industrial demands for bioactive ingredients with strong antioxidant potentials under different food processing conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel caffeic acid derivative, butylated methyl caffeate (BMC), was synthesized via esterification between butylated caffeic acid (BCA) and methanol. Its antioxidant activity was investigated and compared to TBHQ, caffeic acid (CA), methyl caffeate (MC) and BCA through deep-frying, an oven test in oil-in-water emulsions and DPPH radical scavenging. BMC showed the strongest antioxidant activity among the five antioxidants in emulsions and its antioxidant activity was almost as strong as BCA in frying. Its soybean oil-water partition coefficient was 9.18 due to its ester and tert-butyl groups, far greater than those of MC (4.82), BCA (2.41), CA (0.84) and TBHQ (3.22). This meant that it was much more soluble in the lipid phase than the other four antioxidants in emulsions. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of BMC was near TBHQ, lower than the other three because of its steric hindrance and less functional phenolic hydroxyl groups compared to others when their masses were the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel compound, 6,6'-(butane-1,1-diyl)bis(4-methylbenzene-1,2-diol) (BMB), was synthesized through an acid-catalyzed condensation reaction between 4-methylcatechol (HPC) and butyraldehyde. When evaluated by the Rancimat and deep frying methods, BMB exhibited a stronger antioxidant activity than TBHQ. Its DPPH radical scavenging activity was also fairly higher than TBHQ, but lower compared to its mother phenol, HPC, due to its relative ease of binding DPPH•. BMB had the strongest scavenging ability of the 4-methylcatechol analogues reported to date. It could be used effectively to retard lipid peroxidation in both moderate and high temperature food preparations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]