A cyclic metabolic pathway was obtained when 3,5-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxytoluene (BHT) was incubated with a rat liver microsomal preparation. The pathway is as follows: BHT --> 4-hydroperoxy-4-methyl-2,6-di-t-butylcyclohexa-2,5-dienone (BHT-OOH) --> 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2,6-di-t-butylcyclohexa-2,5-dienone (BHT-3(0)OH) --> BHT. This metabolic pathway suggests that antioxidants such as BHT owe their high efficacy, at least in part, to their metabolic regeneration.

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3,5-Di-t-butylhydroxytoluene (compound I) was converted into 4-hydroperoxy-4-methyl-2,6-di-t-butylcyclohexa-2,5-dienone (compound II), 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2,6-di-t-butylcyclohexa-2,5-dienone (compound III) and 2,6-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxymethylphenol (compound IV) by rat liver microsomal preparations in the presence of NADPH and air. The oxidation of compound (I) by m-chloroperbenzoic acid also produced the same compounds. These results suggest that hydroperoxide can be an intermediate in aromatic hydroxylation and that biological oxygenations resemble per-acid reactions.

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