Hydroperoxylinoleic Acid Research Articles

Sequential Oxygenation of Linoleic Acid in the Fungus Gaeumannomyces graminis: Stereochemistry of Dioxygenase and Hydroperoxide Isomerase Reactions

Linoleic acid is sequentially oxygenated to (7 S,8 S)-dihydroxylinoleic acid by dioxygenase and hydroperoxide isomerase activities present in the fungus Gaeumannomyces graminis (Brodowsky, I. D., Hamberg, M., and Oliw, E. H., J. Biol. Chem. 267, 14738-14745 (1992)). Linoleic acids stereospecifically deuterated at C-7 and C-8 were prepared by biological desaturation of the corresponding stearates and used to determine the stereochemistry of the hydrogen abstractions occurring in the dioxygenase- and hydroperoxide isomerase-catalyzed reactions. The dioxygenase reaction was found to involve stereospecific abstraction of the pro-S hydrogen from C-8 followed by antarafacial insertion of dioxygen to produce (8 R)-hydroperoxylinoleic acid. The hydroperoxide isomerase reaction consisted of conversion of (8 R)-hydroperoxylinoleic acid into (7 S,8 S)-dihydroxylinoleic acid by stereospecific elimination of the pro-S hydrogen from C-7 and intramolecular suprafacial insertion of oxygen at C-7. Accordingly, during the conversion of linoleic acid into (8 R)-hydroperoxylinoleic acid, the absolute configuration of C-8 was inverted, while the conversion of (8 R)-hydroperoxylinoleic acid into (7 S,8 S)-dihydroxylinoleic acid occurred with retention of absolute configuration at C-7.

Lipid hydroperoxides potentiate mesenteric artery vasoconstrictor responses

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of lipid and organic hydroperoxides on vasomotor activity of isolated rat superior mesenteric arteries. Hydroperoxides did not elicit measurable responses in unstimulated (quiescent) mesenteric arteries. Contractile responses to potassium, however, were significantly potentiated by 13-(s)-hydroperoxylinoleic acid (range 3–54 μM). Potentiation of potassium responses by linoleic acid (18:2) and linolenic acid (18:3) was increased by pretreatment of the fatty acids with lipoxygenase ( p < .01). Lipoxygenase alone had no contractile effects. Lipoxygenase-treated 18:2, tert-butyl hydroperoxide, and hydrogen peroxide augmented contractile responses to phenylephrine, but to a lesser degree than corresponding augmentation of potassium responses. Contractile responses to lipoxygenase-treated 18:3 were blunted by vitamin E ( p < .02) and by nitroblue tetrazolium ( p < .02), whereas catalase and mannitol had no effects, implicating lipid free radicals in the contractile response. Responses to lipid hydroperoxides were not significantly altered by prostaglandin inhibitors. Endothelial cell denudation significantly enhanced the contractile responses elicited by 13-(s)-hydroperoxylinoleic acid ( p < .05), indicating that lipid hydroperoxides enhance agonist-induced contractions by a direct effect on the smooth muscle. These results support a hypothesized link between lipid peroxidation and development of altered vascular function. They further suggest that the vascular endothelium may play an important role in regulation of vasomotor responses to lipid hydroperoxides.

Evidence for the involvement of jasmonates and their octadecanoid precursors in the tendril coiling response of Bryonia dioica

The structural requirements of jasmonates to induce tendril coiling in Bryonia dioica were investigated. 9,10-Dihydromethyljasmonate, the 6-hydroxy analogues of methyljasmonate and dihydromethyljasmonate as well as 6-desoxyjasmonates were inactive up to 0.1 mM concentration, whereas methyljasmonate (JAME) was highly active at 5–10 μM (threshold: 1 μM) concentration. All biosynthetic precursors of jasmonic acid (α-linolenic acid, 13-hydroperoxylinolenic acid and 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (PDA) tested were biologically active. The methyl ester of PDA (PDAME) was the most active inducer, with relative activities: PDAME, JAME, 13-hydroperoxylinolenic acid ∼ α-linolenic acid. The response to PDAME was also much more rapid than that to JAME. Fatty acid analysis of tendril tissue showed the presence of α-linolenic acid in membrane lipids, including plasma membranes. Shortly after a touch stimulus, the cellular pool of free α-linolenic acid drops faster than that of other fatty acids suggesting a preferential requirement for this fatty acid. Jasmonic acid (JA) is present in leaf and tendril extracts of B. dioica, as shown using a highly sensitive and selective LC-HPLC-ELISA technique based on the monoclonal anti-(−)-JAME antibody JAH1-8B4-2A11 [limit of detection < 1 pmol (−)-JAME]. Coiling elicited with JAME or indole-3-acetic acid proceeded with increased ethylene evolution. Aminoethoxyvinylglycine inhibited this ethylene formation to below levels of controls without any effect on coiling. Collectively, our data support the view that touch rapidly initiates in B. dioica tendrils the formation of jasmonates from α-linolenic acid which are released as messengers triggering the coiling response. Specific sites (receptors) for the recognition of jasmonates have to be postulated in order to explain the high structural selectivity of the response. The finding that PDAME acts considerably faster and at much lower levels than JAME suggests that it either reaches the precise location of jasmonate formation in the cell more easily than JAME itself giving rise to high local jasmonate levels or that PDAME is by itself an active inducer of tendril coiling.

The role of endothelial cells in the relaxations induced by 13-hydroxy- and 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid in canine arteries.

1. One of the major fatty acids in the arterial wall is linoleic acid. It has been shown that its 13-hydroxy metabolite (13-HODE) is generated in significant amounts by cultured endothelial cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relaxations to 13-HODE and its hydroperoxyprecursor (13-HPODE) and to examine the role of the endothelial cells. 2. Ring segments of canine circumflex and splenic artery were mounted in organ chambers for isometric tension recording. During contractions induced by prostaglandin F2 alpha or noradrenaline, 13-HODE and 13-HPODE evoked dose-dependent relaxations. Removal of the endothelial cells reduced the relaxations to 13-HODE, but had no effect on those elicited by 13-HPODE. 3. Indomethacin and meclofenamate (0.3 microM to 30 microM) blocked the relaxations evoked by 13-HODE and 13-HPODE in endothelium-denuded rings. In segments with endothelium, both cyclo-oxygenase inhibitors again abolished the relaxations to 13-HODE, but only diminished those to 13-HPODE. 4. Prostacyclin biosynthesis, as measured by radioimmunoassay, increased upon incubation with 13-HODE and 13-HPODE (10 microM). Bioassay of the release of nitric oxide (NO) indicated that NO was not involved in the relaxations elicited by either metabolite. Moreover, L-NG-nitroarginine (100 microM), a specific inhibitor of NO synthesis, did not influence the relaxations to 13-HODE and 13-HPODE. The responses to 13-HPODE were also not altered by superoxide dismutase. 5. In the splenic artery 13-HPODE and 13-HODE induced contractions above 3 microM which were blocked by the thromboxane receptor antagonist, daltroban.In the circumflex artery contractile responses to high concentrations of 13-HODE could be observed only after inhibition of cyclo-oxygenase.6. We conclude that the vasodilatation induced by 13-HODE and 13-HPODE was due to stimulation of prostacyclin biosynthesis both in the endothelium and smooth muscle cells or other subendothelial structures. An additional, unidentified intermediate, which was neither NO nor a cyclo-oxygenase product nor superoxide anion, contributed to the relaxations to 13-HPODE in arteries with endothelium.

Effect of lipid hydroperoxide on lipoxygenase kinetics.

In order to investigate the activation of lipoxygenase and to clarify the role of the oxygenation product hydroperoxide in this process, the effect of 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid (P, 0-35 microM) on linoleic acid (S, 1-80 microM) oxygenation catalysis by 12 nM lipoxygenase-1 from soybean was studied at pH 10, 25 degrees C, and 240 microM O2 with rapid kinetic techniques. The following observations were made: (1) Iron(II) and iron(III) lipoxygenases are kinetically different: reactions started with the Fe(II) enzyme form show a lag phase, whereas iron(III) lipoxygenase induces an initial burst. (2) Oxidation of the enzyme alone is not sufficient to abolish the lag phase: at [S] greater than 50 microM, the initial burst in the iron(III) lipoxygenase curves is still followed by a lag. The lag phase disappears completely only in the presence of micromolar quantities of P. (3) The approximate dissociation constants for S and P are 15 and 24 microM, respectively, 1 order of magnitude smaller than the corresponding values in the absence of oxygen. The observed kinetics are predicted by numerical integration of the rate equations of a model based on the single lipid binding site mechanism for the anaerobic lipoxygenase reaction [Ludwig et al. (1987) Eur. J. Biochem. 168, 325-337; Verhagen et al. (1978) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 529, 369-379]. A quasi-steady-state approximation of the model suggests that a high [S]/[P] the fraction of active iron(III) lipoxygenase is small and that, therefore, a lag phase is intrinsic to the mechanism.

A linoleic acid (8R)-dioxygenase and hydroperoxide isomerase of the fungus Gaeumannomyces graminis. Biosynthesis of (8R)-hydroxylinoleic acid and (7S,8S)-dihydroxylinoleic acid from (8R)-hydroperoxylinoleic acid.

The fungus Gaeumannomyces graminis metabolized linoleic acid extensively to (8R)-hydroperoxylinoleic acid, (8R)-hydroxylinoleic acid, and threo-(7S,8S)-dihydroxylinoleic acid. When G. graminis was incubated with linoleic acid under an atmosphere of oxygen-18, the isotope was incorporated into (8R)-hydroxylinoleic acid and 7,8-dihydroxylinoleic acid. The two hydroxyls of the latter contained either two oxygen-18 or two oxygen-16 atoms, whereas a molecular species that contained both oxygen isotopes was formed in negligible amounts. Glutathione peroxidase inhibited the biosynthesis of 7,8-dihydroxylinoleic acid. These findings demonstrated that the diol was formed from (8R)-hydroperoxylinoleic acid by intramolecular hydroxylation at carbon 7, catalyzed by a hydroperoxide isomerase. The (8R)-dioxygenase appeared to metabolize substrates with a saturated carboxylic side chain and a 9Z-double bond. G. graminis also formed omega 2- and omega 3-hydroxy metabolites of the fatty acids. In addition, linoleic acid was converted to small amounts of nearly (65% R) racemic 10-hydroxy-8,12-octadecadienoic acid by incorporation of atmospheric oxygen. An unstable metabolite, 11-hydroxylinoleic acid, could also be isolated as well as (13R,13S)-hydroxy-(9E,9Z), (11E)-octadecadienoic acids and (9R,9S)-hydroxy-(10E), (12E,12Z)-octadecadienoic acids. In summary, G. graminis contains a prominent linoleic acid (8R)-dioxygenase, which differs from the lipoxygenase family of dioxygenases by catalyzing the formation of a hydroperoxide without affecting the double bonds of the substrate.

Octadecanoid Precursors of Jasmonic Acid Activate the Synthesis of Wound-Inducible Proteinase Inhibitors.

Jasmonic acid and methyl jasmonate have been shown previously to be powerful inducers of proteinase inhibitors in tomato, tobacco, and alfalfa leaves. We show here that when proposed octadecanoid precursors of jasmonic acid, i.e., linolenic acid, 13(S)-hydroperoxylinolenic acid, and phytodienoic acid, were applied to the surfaces of tomato leaves, these compounds also served as powerful inducers of proteinase inhibitor I and II synthesis, a simulation of a wound response. By contrast, compounds closely related to the precursors but which are not intermediates in the jasmonic acid biosynthetic pathway did not induce proteinase inhibitor synthesis. These results suggest that the octadecanoid intermediates may participate in a lipid-based signaling system that activates proteinase inhibitor synthesis in response to insect and pathogen attack.

Rat pulmonary lipoxygenase: dioxygenase activity and role in xenobiotic metabolism

1. 1. Dioxygenase activity and the ability of pregnant rat lung lipoxygenase to oxidize xenobiotics were examined in vitro under a variety of experimental conditions. 2. 2. More than 90% of the dioxygenase activity towards linoleic acid in the lung homogenate was found to be associated with the cytosolic fraction. The cytosolic enzyme exhibited pH optima at 6.5 and 9.5, the activity being two-fold greater at pH 9.5. To observe maximal dioxygenase activity (about 0.7 μmol of 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid formed/min per mg protein) at pH 9.5, the presence of 6.0 mM linoleic acid was required. 3. 3. Benzidine oxidation occurred at maximal rate of pH 6.5 when the reaction medium contained 1.0 mM benzidine and 13.5 mM linoleic acid. All eight xenobiotics tested were oxidized at significant rates by the lung cytosolic lipoxygenase. 4. 4. Both dioxygenase activity and benzidine oxidation were inhibited by the inhibitors of lipoxygenase, viz. nordihydroguaiaretic acid, BHT, caffeic acid, esculetin, and gossypol, in a concentration-dependent manner. 5. 5. The results suggest that oxidation of xenobiotics by lipoxygenase may be an important pathway of metabolism in the mammalian lung.

Effect of Hydroperoxy Fatty Acids on Acylation and Deacylation of Arachidonoyl Groups in Synaptic Phospholipids

The effect of hydroperoxy fatty acids on reactions involved in the acylation-deacylation cycle of synaptic phospholipids was studied in vitro, using nerve ending fraction isolated from rat forebrain. 15-Hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HPETE), 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid (13-HP 18: 2), and hydroperoxydocosahexaenoic acid (22:6 Hpx), at 25 microM final concentration, all inhibited the incorporation of [1-14C]arachidonate into synaptosomal phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylcholine (PC), and triacylglycerides by 50-80%. The lowest effective concentration of 15-HPETE and 13-HP 18:2 resulting in significant inhibition of the reacylation of PI was 5 microM, whereas the inhibition of [1-14C]arachidonate incorporation into PC required 10 and 5 microM hydroperoxy fatty acids, respectively. Cumene hydroperoxide and tert-butyl hydroperoxide at concentrations of 100 microM did not inhibit reacylation of PI and PC. Synthesis of labeled arachidonoyl-CoA from [1-14C]arachidonate was decreased by about 50% by 25 microM hydroperoxy fatty acids both in synaptosomes and in the microsomal fraction. Use of [1-14C]arachidonoyl-CoA as a substrate, to bypass the fatty acid activation reaction, revealed that activity of acyltransferase was not affected significantly by 25 microM 15-HPETE and 13-HP 18:2. At the same time, however, the hydrolysis of labeled arachidonoyl-CoA was substantially enhanced. Exposure of synaptosomes to 25 microM fatty acid hydroperoxides did not affect significantly the endogenous concentrations of five major free fatty acids. It is concluded that (1) among synaptic phospholipids, reacylation of PI and PC is the most susceptible to the inhibitory action of fatty acid hydroperoxides, and (2) the enzymes affected by these compounds in nerve endings are arachidonoyl-CoA synthetase and hydrolase.

Mechanism for the generation of superoxide anion and singlet oxygen during heme compound-catalyzed linoleic acid hydroperoxide decomposition

Heme compound, hematin or cytochrome c, catalyzes the decomposition of 13-hydroperoxy linoleic acid yielding both O 2 − and 1O 2 under aerobic conditions. No 1O 2 is produced when hydrogen peroxide and cumene hydroperoxide are used as substrates. In these experiments, both O 2 − and 1O 2 could be precisely detected by a chemiluminescence method using a cypridina luciferin analog, 2-methyl-6-( p-methoxyphenyl)-3,7-dihydroimidazo[1,2- a]pyrazin-3-one, as a chemiluminescence probe, in the absence and presence of CuZn superoxide dismutase in catalytic amounts. The reduction and oxidation cycle of ferric heme compound and the bimolecular reaction of peroxyl radicals are plausible reaction mechanisms for O 2 − and 1O 2 production, respectively, in the systems studied.

The enzymic conversion of 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid into 13-hydroxy-12-oxooctadec-9(Z)-enoic acid and 9-hydroxy-12-oxooctadec-10(E)-enoic acid: isotopic evidence for an allene epoxide intermediate

Using synthetic [9,10,12,13-2H4]linoleic acid as substrate it is shown that flax enzyme preparation forms [9,10,13-2H3]-13-hydroxy-12-oxooctadec-9(Z)-enoic acid and [9,10,13-2H3]-9-hydroxy-12oxooctadec-10(E)-enoic acid with loss of the deuterium originally at C-12, thus demonstrating that an allene epoxide is involved as an intermediate and that transfer of deuterium from C-12 to C-11 does not occur.

Efficient epoxidation of unsaturated fatty acids by a hydroperoxide-dependent oxygenase.

Detergent-solubilized and partially purified soybean peroxygenase was shown to actively catalyze, in the presence of alkylhydroperoxides as co-substrates, the epoxidation of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids such as oleic and linoleic acids. Octadecenoic acids were found to be better substrates than shorter mono-unsaturated fatty acids (C16:1 or C14:1), but the position of their double bond (at positions 6, 9, or 11) had little effect on the rates of epoxidation. The peroxygenase exhibits a strong stereospecificity since octadecenoic acids with double bonds in trans-configuration were not epoxidized at detectable rates. Oxidation of linoleic acid yielded the two positional monoepoxide isomers and, as the minor product, the diepoxide. An important regioselectivity was, however, observed in this case; i.e. the unsaturation at position 9,10 was epoxidized preferentially to that at 12, 13. Oxidation of oleic acid in the presence of 18O-labeled hydroperoxy-linoleic acid revealed an incorporation of about 80% of the label into the epoxide ring. Products similar to those formed by the peroxygenase by epoxidation of unsaturated free fatty acids such as linoleic acid have been described as important metabolites (leukotoxins) in the defense of plants, e.g. in fungal agressions. This aspect underlines the physiological relevance of this new and potent catalytic activity of the peroxygenase.

Modulation of human colonic lamina propria lymphocyte proliferation

Bile acids were been implicated in several pathologic processes, such as secretory diarrhea, carcinogenesis, and immunomodulation of human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Nevertheless, their effect on the human gut immune system is not known. In this study we investigate the effect of several bile acids (cholate, deoxycholate, chenodeoxycholate) and 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid (conc. 0.1-1000, microM) on human colonic lamina propria lymphocyte (LPL) DNA synthesis and cell proliferation. In addition, the effect of these bile acids on LPL ornithine decarboxylase activity was also determined. Significant dose-dependent inhibition of [3H]thymidine incorporation in Con A-stimulated LPL was observed. Parallel inhibition was seen on LPL cell proliferation. Furthermore, bile acids inhibited ornithine decarboxylase activity in Con A-stimulated LPL. These effects on cell proliferation were not due to the LPL cytolysis as viability and cell membrane integrity were not altered. Our results suggest that bile acid has an immunoregulatory function on the human mucosal immune system and may have a role during pathological states.

Notes: Separation of 13-and 9-Hydroperoxide Lyase Activities in Cotyledons of Cucumber Seedlings

Abstract In cucumber cotyledons, both C6 - and C9- aldehyde were formed via hydroperoxide (HPO) lyase activity. Because it has not been elucidated whether these activities are attributed to one enzyme which can cleave both 13-and 9-HPO or to two or more enzymes each of which specifically cleaves 13-or 9-HPO , an attempt to separate HPO lyase activity was done. Ion exchange chromatography separated this activity into two fractions, one of which specifically cleaved 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid and the other specifically cleaved the 9-isomer. 13-HPO-specific activity was most active at pH 8.0 and 9-HPO-specific one was at pH 6.5. SH -reagents inhibited both the lyases but to different extents.

Properties of a Lipoxygenase in Green Algae (Oscillatoria sp.)

A lipoxygenase preparation was obtained from green algae Oscillatoria sp. and was shown to differ from previous described lipoxygenases in the positional specificity and pH characteristics of the dioxygenation reaction. The enzyme had a pH optimum at 8.8 and was inactive at pH 6. Oscillatoria lipoxygenase converted linoleic acid into two products: 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid (52%) and 9-hydroperoxylinoleic acid (48%). The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated at 124,000. Esculetin was found to be the best inhibitor of the enzyme activity.

Metabolism of Fatty Acid Hydroperoxides by Chlorella pyrenoidosa

The green alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa was examined for its ability to metabolize 13-hydroperoxylinoleic and 13-hydroperoxylinolenic acids. The study showed that Chlorella extracts possessed hydroperoxide dehydrase and other enzymes of the jasmonic acid pathway. However, under normal laboratory conditions for culture growth, neither jasmonic acid nor metabolites of the jasmonic acid pathway were present in Chlorella. In vitro enzyme studies also revealed the presence of hydroperoxide lyase activity that cleaved 13-hydroperoxylinoleic or 13-hydroperoxylinolenic acid into two products, 13-oxo-cis-9,trans-11-tridecadienoic acid and pentane (from linoleic acid) or pentene (from linolenic acid). The lyase was heat-labile, insensitive to 50 millimolar KCN, and had an approximate molecular weight of 48,000 as estimated by gel filtration. Two other products, 13-hydroxy-cis-9,trans-11,cis-15-octadecatrienoic acid and 12, 13-trans-epoxy-9-oxo-trans-10,cis-15-octadecadienoic acid, were also observed. Because these compounds are also products of nonenzymic, Fe(II)-catalyzed hydroperoxide decomposition reactions, their presence suggested that the observed lyase activity may occur via a homolytic decomposition mechanism.

Reaction of rat liver phenylalanine hydroxylase with fatty acid hydroperoxides. Characterization and mechanism.

Rat liver phenylalanine hydroxylase must be in a reduced form to be catalytically active (Marota, J.J. A., and Shiman, R. (1984) Biochemistry 23, 1303-1311). In this communication we show that a fatty acid hydroperoxide, 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid (LOOH), can efficiently oxidize the reduced enzyme. In the process, the hydroperoxide is decomposed, oxygen consumed, and hydrogen peroxide formed. Enzyme reduction by the tetrahydropterin cofactor and reoxidation by LOOH can occur as two single steps or, when the enzyme concentration is low compared to that of the substrates, as part of a catalytic cycle. In this latter case, phenylalanine hydroxylase is a hydroperoxide-dependent tetrahydropterin oxidase. The reaction requires 1.0 mol of O2, 1.0 mol of tetrahydropterin, and 0.5 mol of LOOH to yield 1.0 mol of quinonoid dihydropterin, 0.4 mol of H2O2, and fatty acid products. Thus far, the catalytic and single-step reactions appear the same in all properties, consistent with the steady-state reaction following a ping-pong mechanism. Phenylalanine hydroxylase is an excellent catalyst for this reaction: the turnover number with LOOH is slightly greater than with phenylalanine; the Km(app) for LOOH is 11 +/- 4 microM; and the kcat/Km ratio for LOOH is about 25 times greater than for phenylalanine. LOOH and phenylalanine appear to react at different sites on phenylalanine appear to react at different sites on phenylalanine hydroxylase, and the reaction of LOOH is inhibited only slightly by phenylalanine and not at all by 5-deaza-6-methyltetrahydropterin, a competitive inhibitor of phenylalanine hydroxylation. The reaction of LOOH with phenylalanine hydroxylase strongly resembles the nonenzymatic reaction of LOOH with hematin, implying similar mechanisms for the two reactions and implicating the enzyme's non-heme iron as both the site of reaction of LOOH and of electron transfer during oxidation and reduction. The formation of hydrogen peroxide during a reaction of phenylalanine hydroxylase is unusual. Indirect evidence indicates a reduced oxygen species, formed on the enzyme during the reduction step, is (partially) released as H2O2 when the hydroperoxide reacts.

過酸化物反応系由来の励起一重項酸素分子の高感度近赤外分光検出

Recently many biologists and physicians pay attention to singlet molecular oxygen generation in biological and biochemical systems. However, positive evidence of singlet; molecular oxygen production using chemical detective method has not been enough.In an effort to prove the existence of singlet molecular oxygen in general biological system, we attempted to obtain a spectrum, thought to be specific to singlet molecular oxygen, in near-infrared region without using any scavengers or trappers. The model reaction systems employed this time for the generation of singlet molecular oxygen were those consisted of Ce4+ in methanol and 13-hydroperoxy linoleic acid or cumyl hydroperoxide. It has been supposed that singlet molecular oxygen was generated in the system of secondary-hydroperoxide such as 13-hydroperoxy linoleic acid, but not in the system of tert-hydroperoxide such as cumyl hydroperoxide. The spectrum we obtained, however, has a peak at 1.27um corresponding to the molar transition of singlet molecular oxygen. These experimental results seem to indicate clearly the existence of singlet molecular oxygen in the system of tert-hydroperoxide, as well as secondary-hydroperoxide.

Pathways of Fatty Acid Hydroperoxide Metabolism in Spinach Leaf Chloroplasts

The metabolism of 13-hydroperoxylinolenic acid was examined in protoplasts and homogenates prepared from mature leaves of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.). Chloroplast membranes were the principal site for metabolism of the compound by at least two highly hydrophobic enzyme systems, hydroperoxide lyase and hydroperoxide dehydrase, the new name for an enzyme system formerly known as hydroperoxide isomerase and hydroperoxide cyclase. Hydroperoxide lyase was most active above pH 7 and could be separated from hydroperoxide dehydrase by anion exchange chromatography. Hydroperoxide dehydrase, measured by the formation of both alpha-ketol product and 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid, had its optimum activity in the range of pH 5 to 7. Lyase was more active than dehydrase activity when the enzymes were extracted by homogenization. The reverse was true when the enzyme activities were measured in protoplasts, which are isolated by gentle extraction methods. The variation in enzyme activity ratios with extraction methods suggests that hydroperoxide lyase is activated by plant injury and thus may function in a wound response. In the absence of injury, the normal pathway of fatty acid hydroperoxide metabolism is probably by hydroperoxide dehydrase activity. The molecular weights of both the lyase and dehydrase were approximately 220,000, as estimated by gel filtration.

Reactions of linoleic acid peroxyl radicals with phenolic antioxidants: a pulse radiolysis study.

Linoleic acid peroxyl radicals (LOO.) can be viewed as model intermediates occurring during lipid peroxidation processes. Formation and reactions of these species were investigated in aqueous alkaline solution using the technique of pulse radiolysis combined with kinetic spectroscopy. Irradiation of linoleic acid in N2O/O2-saturated solutions leads to a mixture of peroxyl radical isomers, whereas reaction of 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid (13-LOOH) with azide radicals in N2O-saturated solution produces 13-LOO. radicals specifically. These peroxyl radicals cannot be observed directly, but their reactions with the two flavonols, kaempferol and quercetin, acting as radical-scavenging antioxidants, produced strongly absorbing aroxyl radicals (ArO.). The same aroxyl radicals were generated by .OH and N3. with rate constants exceeding 10(9) dm3 mol-1 s-1. Applying a reaction scheme that includes competing generation and decay reactions of both LOO. and ArO. radicals, we derived individual rate constants for LOO. reactions with the phenols (greater than 10(7) dm3 mol-1 s-1), with the aroxyl radicals to form covalent adducts (greater than 10(8) dm3 mol-1 s-1), as well as for their bimilecular decay (3.0 X 10(8) dm3 mol-1 s-1). These results demonstrate the high reactivity of both fatty acid peroxyl radicals and the flavone antioxidants in aqueous solution.