Ribó J M, Farrera J A, Claret J
Departament de Química Orgànica, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.
Experientia. 1990 Jan 15;46(1):63-7. doi: 10.1007/BF01955417.
Cyclic voltammetry of molecular oxygen in aprotic media (dimethylformamide) and in the presence of bilirubin and other bile pigments shows that superoxide anion (O2-.) undergoes proton-induced dismutation. Lactam hydrogens of bile pigments are sufficiently acid to induce (O2-.) disproportionation to O2 and H2O2. Because of its characteristic lipophilic behavior, a biological role for natural bilirubin similar to that of other non-enzymatic lipophilic scavengers of (O2-.) is suggested.
