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The reactivity of flavonoids as radical scavengers was investigated under kinetic considerations using radical polymerization of methyl methacrylates initiated by benzoyl peroxide. The number of radicals which are trapped by each molecule of phenol (the stoichiometric factors, n values) decreased in the order of epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (ECG) (5.5) > catechin (3.5) > resveratrol (2.4) > quercetin (1.9) > n-propylgallate (1.5) > hesperetin (1.0). The inhibition rate constants (k(inh)) (1-3 x 10(3) 1/(mol s)) for the flavonoids were not different from each other, and, therefore, the radical scavenging activity depend on n values. The n values of the fully oxidized flavonoids were estimated from the frontier orbital theory, using PM3 semiempirical molecular orbital calculation. The experimental n values were consistent with the calculated values.

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To clarify the mechanism of the interaction of eugenol with odontoblast membranes compared with that of phenol and triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA), we employed dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) liposomes as a model system for odontoblast membranes. 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) was used as the spectroscopic approach in the study of this interaction. No signals of 1H and 13C due to eugenol in the DPPC/eugenol liposomes were observed, indicating that the mobility of eugenol was strongly disturbed by DPPC and that eugenol did not diffuse from the liposomes once it was incorporated. The change in chemical shifts due to phenol between the free state and the DPPC/phenol liposomes was not found, indicating that phenol resides in the aqueous phase or near the surfaces of liposomes, its interaction being markedly weaker than that of eugenol. The signals due to TEGDMA in the DPPC/TEGDMA liposomes were split into two peaks: a lower-field peak (free TEGDMA) and a higher-field one (membrane-bound TEGDMA). TEGDMA with ethyleneglycol groups seemed to be activated on the liposomes as a surfactant-like agent.