Abstract

The effect of Boldo and black tea infusions on the pro-oxidant effects of vitamin B2, riboflavin (RF), when exposed to the action of visible light was studied. The amounts of antioxidants present in Boldo and tea infusions were evaluated by a procedure based on the bleaching of preformed 2,2?-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cations and were expressed as 6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethyl-chroman-2-carboxylic acid equivalent concentrations. The quenching rate constants of singlet oxygen (1O2; [kq]Boldo = 6.0 × 107 M-1 s-1 and [kq]Tca = 3.2 × 107 M-1 s-1) and triplet RF (3RF; [3RFkq]Boldo = 10 × 108 M-1 s-1 and [3RFkq]TEA = 3.2 × 108 M-1 s-1) with Boldo and tea were determined by flash photolysis. These data allow a quantitative interpretation of the results obtained. Our data suggest that most of the oxygen consumption observed in the photolysis of RF in the presence of tea and Boldo infusions is caused by 1O2 reactions. The oxygen consumption quantum yield is considerably smaller than the fraction of RF triplets trapped by the additives (AH) present in the infusion, indicating that their interaction with 3RF does not lead to chemical reactions or that the AH.+ radical ions initially formed participate in secondary processes that do not consume oxygen. Boldo and tea infusions have a significant protective effect when a system containing RF and tryptophan (Trp) is exposed to visible light, not only by quenching the 1O2 and interfering with the Type-I mechanism but also by repairing the damage to Trp molecules associated with the latter mechanism.