Free radical-mediated chain oxidation of low density lipoprotein and its synergistic inhibition by vitamin E and vitamin C.

The oxidation of human low density lipoprotein (LDL) initiated by free radical initiator and its inhibition by vitamin E and water-soluble antioxidants have been studied. It was found that the kinetic chain length was considerably larger than 1, suggesting that LDL was oxidized by a free radical chain mechanism. Vitamin E acted as a lipophilic chain-breaking antioxidant. Water-soluble chain-breaking antioxidants such as ascorbic acid and uric acid suppressed the oxidation of LDL initiated by aqueous radicals but they could not scavenge lipophilic radicals within LDL to break the chain propagation. Ascorbic acid acted as a synergistic antioxidant in conjunction with vitamin E.