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. 2011;16(6):242-7.
doi: 10.1179/1351000211Y.0000000015.

Exploration of pro-oxidant and antioxidant activities of the flavonoid myricetin

Vladimir Chobot  1 , Franz Hadacek
Affiliations

Exploration of pro-oxidant and antioxidant activities of the flavonoid myricetin

Vladimir Chobot et al. Redox Rep. 2011.

Erratum in

  • Redox Rep. 2012;17(4):180

Abstract

Objectives: Flavonoids are ubiquitous phenolic plant metabolites. Many of them are well known for their pro- and antioxidant properties. Myricetin has been reported to be either a potent antioxidant or a pro-oxidant depending on the conditions. The reaction conditions for the pro- and antioxidant activities were therefore investigated using variations of the deoxyribose degradation assay systems.

Methods: The deoxyribose degradation assay systems were conducted as follows; H(2)O(2)/Fe(III)/ascorbic acid, H(2)O(2)/Fe(III), Fe(III)/ascorbic acid, and Fe(III). Each system was carried out in two variants, FeCl(3) (iron ions added as FeCl(3)) and FeEDTA (iron added in complex with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid).

Results: When ascorbic acid was present, myricetin showed antioxidant properties, especially when it occurred in complex with iron. In ascorbic acid-free systems, pro-oxidant activities prevailed, which where enhanced if iron was in complex with EDTA.

Discussion: Myricetin's antioxidant activity depends on both the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and iron ions chelation properties. The pro-oxidative properties are caused by reduction of molecular oxygen to ROS and iron(III) to iron(II). Myricetin is able to substitute for ascorbic acid albeit less efficiently.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Structure of myricetin.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Effects of myricetin on TBARS formation in various systems and variants of the deoxyribose degradation assay; 100% TBARS represents mean formation in the FeCl3 or FeEDTA variant of the classical ascorbic acid–H2O2 system; bars are mean ± SD; N = 3, letters indicate different levels of significance between effects (95% Duncan's multiple range test).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Dose–response curves of TBARS formation depending on the myricetin:Fe ratio in various systems and variants of the deoxyribose degradation assay; 100% TBARS represents mean formation in the FeCl3 or FeEDTA variant of the classical ascorbic acid–H2O2 system; X-axis has logarithmic scaling but values are not transformed.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Redox reactions of myricetin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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