Tai Akihiro, Sawano Takeshi, Yazama Futoshi, Ito Hideyuki
Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Shobara, Hiroshima 727-0023, Japan.
Biochim Biophys Acta. 2011 Feb;1810(2):170-7. doi: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2010.11.004. Epub 2010 Nov 21.
Vanillin, a compound widely used in foods, beverages, cosmetics and drugs, has been reported to exhibit multifunctional effects such as antimutagenic, antiangiogenetic, anti-colitis, anti-sickling, and antianalgesic effects. However, results of studies on the antioxidant activity of vanillin are not consistent.
We systematically evaluated the antioxidant activity of vanillin using multiple assay systems. DPPH radical-, galvinoxyl radical-, and ABTS(+)-scavenging assays, ORAC assay and an oxidative hemolysis inhibition assay (OxHLIA) were used for determining the antioxidant activity.
Vanillin showed stronger activity than did ascorbic acid and Trolox in the ABTS(+)-scavenging assay but showed no activity in the DPPH radical- and galvinoxyl radical-scavenging assays. Vanillin showed much stronger antioxidant activity than did ascorbic acid and Trolox in the ORAC assay and OxHLIA. In the ABTS(+)-scavenging assay, ORAC assay and OxHLIA, vanillin reacted with radicals via a self-dimerization mechanism. The dimerization contributed to the high reaction stoichiometry against ABTS(+) and AAPH-derived radicals to result in the strong effect of vanillin. Oral administration of vanillin to mice increased the vanillin concentration and the antioxidant activity in plasma. These data suggested that antioxidant activity of vanillin might be more beneficial than has been thought for daily health care.
Based on the results of the present study, we propose the addition of antioxidant capacity to the multifunctionality of vanillin.
香草醛是一种广泛应用于食品、饮料、化妆品和药品中的化合物，据报道具有多种功能作用，如抗诱变、抗血管生成、抗结肠炎、抗镰状化和镇痛作用。然而，关于香草醛抗氧化活性的研究结果并不一致。
我们使用多种检测系统系统地评估了香草醛的抗氧化活性。采用DPPH自由基清除法、加尔文氧基自由基清除法、ABTS(+)自由基阳离子清除法、氧自由基吸收能力（ORAC）测定法和氧化溶血抑制试验（OxHLIA）来测定抗氧化活性。
在ABTS(+)自由基阳离子清除试验中，香草醛表现出比抗坏血酸和Trolox更强的活性，但在DPPH自由基清除试验和加尔文氧基自由基清除试验中无活性。在ORAC测定法和OxHLIA中，香草醛表现出比抗坏血酸和Trolox更强的抗氧化活性。在ABTS(+)自由基阳离子清除试验、ORAC测定法和OxHLIA中，香草醛通过自二聚化机制与自由基反应。这种二聚化导致了对ABTS(+)和2,2'-偶氮二异丁腈（AAPH）衍生自由基的高反应化学计量比，从而产生了香草醛的强抗氧化效果。给小鼠口服香草醛可提高血浆中香草醛浓度和抗氧化活性。这些数据表明，香草醛的抗氧化活性可能比日常保健中所认为的更有益。
基于本研究结果，我们建议在香草醛的多功能性中增加抗氧化能力。
