A radical scavenging reaction of alpha-tocopherol with methyl radical

Abstract

To study a radical scavenging reaction of alpha-tocopherol, it was reacted with methyl radical in dimethyl sulfoxide. Two main products, a geminal dimethyl cyclohexadienone and methyl ether of alpha-tocopherol, were obtained and these structures were determined by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The radical methylation data of alpha-tocopherol suggested that a delocalize radical species would be an intermediate.