Design and Synthesis of Cellulose Derivatives with Antioxidant Activity

Abstract In this study we report the synthesis and characterisation of cellulose ferulate, lipoate and α ‐tocopherulate, and their ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation in rat‐liver microsomal membranes, induced in vitro by two different sources of free radicals: tert ‐butyl hydroperoxide and 2,2′‐azobis‐(2‐amidinopropane). We also compared the antioxidant efficiency of the ferulate derivatives obtained through two different synthetic runs, and of a tocopherulate derivative prepared from 6‐carboxycellulose. This study showed that the designed systems, preserving the antioxidant activity of the free substrates, are more effective in protecting from tert ‐butyl hydroperoxide than from 2,2′‐azobis‐(2‐amidinopropane). Moreover, the cellulose ferulate with the higher degree of substitution acted as the best antioxidant. magnified image