Reaction of gamma-tocopherol with hypochlorous acid.

In addition to being a very good antioxidant, gamma-tocopherol is also an excellent electrophile trap. This is a study of the reactivity of gamma-tocopherol with hypochlorous acid/hypochlorite, a potential biological foe that is both an oxidant and an electrophile. Aqueous sodium hypochlorite (1.

Reduction of 8a-hydroxy-2,2,5,7,8-pentamethyl-6-chromanone.

Two-electron oxidation of 2,2,5,7,8-pentamethyl-6-chromanol (PH), a model compound of alpha-tocopherol, gives the unstable 8a-hydroxy-2,2,5,7,8-pentamethyl-6-chromanone (POH) which rearranges to form stable 2-(3-hydroxy-3-methylbutyl)-3,5,6-trimethyl-1,4-benzoquinone (PQ). POH and PQ are isomers which have the same oxidation state. The aim of this work was to compare the ease of reduction of POH and PQ at room temperature using a variety of biological and chemical reductants in a reductant:POH (PQ) ratio of 20:1 (or 16:1).