Chitosan gallate as a novel potential polysaccharide antioxidant: an EPR study.

A novel biopolymer-based antioxidant, chitosan conjugated with gallic acid (chitosan galloylate, chitosan-GA), is proposed. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) demonstrates a wide range of antioxidant activity for chitosan-GA as evidenced from its reactions with oxidizing free radicals, that is, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-H(2)O(2), carbon-centered alkyl radicals, and hydroxyl radicals. The EPR spectrum of the radical formed on chitosan-GA was attributed to the semiquinone radical of the gallate moiety. The stoichiometry and effective concentration (EC(50)) of the DPPH free radical with chitosan-GA show that the radical scavenging capacity is maintained even after thermal treatment at 100 degrees C for an hour. Although the degree of substitution of GA on chitosan was about 15%, its antioxidant capacity, that is, the reaction with carbon-centered and hydroxyl radicals, is comparable to that of GA. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.