When supercoiled plasmid DNA was incubated with 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane)hydrochloride (AAPH) at pH 7.4 in the presence and absence of oxygen, the DNA single strands were effectively cleaved. The breaking in the presence of oxygen was not inhibited by superoxide dismutase and catalase, but inhibited by mannitol, ethanol, butyl hydroxyanisole, thiol compounds, tertiary amines and spin trapping agents N-tert-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone (PBN) and 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO). The breaking in the absence of oxygen was inhibited by ethanol, a tertiary amine and PBN. By electron spin resonance spin-trapping with PBN, the carbon-centered radical was detected both in the presence and the absence of oxygen. Hydroxyl radical was detected by use of DMPO only in the presence of oxygen. The DNA breaking activity of AAPH was found to be due primarily to the aliphatic carbon-centered radical. While the reactivity of carbon-centered radicals have received little attention, the aliphatic carbon-centered radical generated from AAPH was found to be highly reactive to break the DNA strands.
The effect of plant phenolics, including flavonoids and green tea polyphenolics, on hydroxyl radical was examined by a common method using an electron spin resonance (ESR) technique with 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO) as a spin trapping agent. The intensity of the ESR signals of DMPO-OH adduct formed by the interaction of DMPO with Fenton reagent was reduced in the presence of each phenolic in a dose-dependent manner. However, the decrease in the intensity of the signals was due partly to the enhanced disappearance of the spin adduct by the phenolics, as has been previously shown. This spin trapping method was unreliable for evaluation of the effect of the phenolics against hydroxyl radical. Hydroxyl radical induced-DNA single-strand breaks may be a better index for evaluation of the activity of the phenolics regarding hydroxyl radical. The effect of the phenolics on DNA single-strand breaks induced by Fenton reagent was examined. While sesamol and esculetin were inhibitory, most polyphenolics, especially (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC) and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), were rather stimulatory. The results indicate that sesamol and esculetin scavenged hydroxyl radical, and EGC and EGCG generated hydroxyl radical under the conditions where hydroxyl radical was generating.
Generation of the imidazoquinoxaline-type heterocyclic amines in the heated model system composed of glucose/glycine/creatinine in aqueous diethylene glycol was effectively prevented by phenolic antioxidants, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), propyl gallate (PG), sesamol, esculetin and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in a dose-dependent manner. Generation of the mutagens in heated-and-dried bonito meat was effectively prevented on pretreatment with EGCG or green tea extract. Electron spin resonance (ESR) studies showed that the heated model mixture of glucose/glycine generated the unstable pyrazine cation radical, and its formation was inhibited by BHA, sesamol and EGCG. ESR-spin trapping studies using 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO) and N-tert-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone (PBN) showed that the heated model mixture of glucose/glycine or glucose/glycine/creatinine generated unstable carbon-centred radical(s), and their formation was effectively inhibited by BHA, sesamol and EGCG. It is likely that the unstable free radical Maillard intermediates played an important role in the formation of the imidazoquinoxaline-type heterocyclic amines, and the phenolic antioxidants effectively scavenged the radical species to prevent the mutagen formation.
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