o-Quinones formed in plant extracts. Their reactions with amino acids and peptides.

1. The reactions of amino acids and peptides with the o-quinones produced by the enzymic oxidation of chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid have been studied manometrically and spectrophotometrically. 2. Amino acids, except lysine and cysteine, react primarily through their alpha-amino groups to give red or brown products. These reactions, which compete with the polymerization of the quinones, are followed by secondary reactions that may absorb oxygen and give products with other colours. 3. The in-amino group of lysine reacts with the o-quinones in a similar way. The thiol group of cysteine reacts with the quinones, without absorbing oxygen, giving colourless products. 4. Peptides containing cysteine react with the o-quinones through their thiol group. 5. Other peptides, such as glycyl-leucine and leucylglycine, react primarily through their alpha-amino group and the overall reaction resembles that of the N-terminal amino acid except that it is quicker. 6. With some peptides, the secondary reactions differ from those that occur between the o-quinones and the N-terminal amino acids. The colours produced from carnosine resemble those produced from histidine rather than those from beta-alanine, and the reactions of prolylalanine with o-quinones are more complex than those of proline.

o-Quinones formed in plant extracts. Their reaction with bovine serum albumin.

1. The reactions between chlorogenoquinone, the o-quinone formed during the oxidation of chlorogenic acid, and bovine serum albumin depend on the ratio of reactants. 2. When the serum albumin is in excess, oxygen is not absorbed and the products are colourless. This reaction probably involves the thiol group of bovine serum albumin; it does not occur with bovine serum albumin which has been treated with p-chloromercuribenzoate, iodoacetamide or Ellman's reagent. 3. When bovine serum albumin reacts with excess of chlorogenoquinone, oxygen is absorbed and the products are red. The red colour is probably formed by reaction of the lysine in-amino groups of bovine serum albumin, as it is prevented by treating the protein with formaldehyde, succinic anhydride or O-methylisourea. 4. Bovine serum albumin modified by a 1.5-fold (BSA-Q) and a fivefold (BSA-Q2) excess of chlorogenoquinone were separated by chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50, and some of their properties observed. 5. Reaction of BSA-Q2 with fluorodinitrobenzene suggests that the terminal alpha-amino group, as well as lysine in-amino groups, are combined with chlorogenoquinone.

The enzymic oxidation of chlorogenic acid and some reactions of the quinone produced.

1. Partially purified preparations of tobacco-leaf o-diphenol oxidase (o-quinol-oxygen oxidoreductase; EC 1.10.3.1) oxidize chlorogenic acid to brown products, absorbing, on average, 1.6atoms of oxygen/mol. oxidized, and evolving a little carbon dioxide. 2. The effect of benzenesulphinic acid on the oxidation suggests that the first stage is the formation of a quinone; the solution does not go brown, oxygen uptake is restricted to 1 atom/mol. oxidized, and a compound is produced whose composition corresponds to that of a sulphone of the quinone derived from chlorogenic acid. 3. Several other compounds that react with quinones affect the oxidation of chlorogenic acid. The colour of the products formed and the oxygen absorbed in their formation suggest that the quinone formed in the oxidation reacts with these compounds in the same way as do simpler quinones. 4. Some compounds that are often used to prevent the oxidation of polyphenols were tested to see if they act by inhibiting o-diphenol oxidase, by reacting with quinone intermediates, or both. 5. Ascorbate inhibits the enzyme and also reduces the quinone. 6. Potassium ethyl xanthate, diethyldithiocarbamate and cysteine inhibit the enzyme to different extents, and also react with the quinone. The nature of the reaction depends on the relative concentrations of inhibitor and chlorogenic acid. Excess of inhibitor prevents the solution from turning brown and restricts oxygen uptake to 1 atom/mol. of chlorogenic acid oxidized; smaller amounts do not prevent browning and slightly increase oxygen uptake. 7. 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole inhibits the enzyme, and also probably reacts with the quinone; inhibited enzyme is reactivated as if the inhibitor is removed as traces of quinone are produced. 8. Thioglycollate and polyvinylpyrrolidone inhibit the enzyme. Thioglycollate probably reduces the quinone to a small extent.

Effect of chloral hydrate and acetaldehyde on mitochondrial preparations from sweet potato.

The inhibitory effects of chloral hydrate and acetaldehyde have been studied on oxidations performed by mitochondrial preparations of sweet potatoes (Ipomea batatas). With a variety of substrates, chloral acts very like amytal but only between a fifth and a tenth as effectively; it affects those reactions which would be expected to depend on the oxidation of intramitochondrial DPNH, more than the oxidation of succinate or of added DPNH. It also acts like amytal when oxygen is replaced by other electron accepting agents. It is more effective, for example, against the malate reduction of cytochrome c than against the malate reduction of 2:6-dichlorophenol-indophenol.Inhibitions producd by acetaldehyde are more complex. Some DPN-dependent oxidations, especially those of pyruvate and alpha-keto-glutarate, are strongly inhibited, while that of citrate is not.It is suggested that chloral affects the electron transport sequence of sweet potato mitochondria at a similar locus to amytal. Although the present work fails to provide unambiguous evidence that acetaldehyde acts in the same manner, experiments described in the literature have been interpreted in this way.