The influence of antioxidants in the thiyl radical induced lipid peroxidation and geometrical isomerization in micelles of linoleic acid.

The biomimetic model of micelles of linoleic acid containing 2-mercaptoethanol and the antioxidant was examined under gamma irradiation up to 400Gy in aerobic or deoxygenated conditions where thiyl radicals are the main reactive species. Lipid peroxidation was retarded by ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol, whereas this process was strongly inhibited by resveratrol as effectively as the ascorbic acid/alpha-tocopherol mixture. Furthermore, antioxidants have a much stronger inhibitory effect on the peroxidation in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol, and at the same time show protective properties of the double bond, decreasing the cis-trans isomerization. Under anaerobic conditions, cis-trans isomerization occurred and antioxidants efficiency increased along the series: resveratrol < alpha-tocopherol