Impact of trolox, quercetin, genistein and gallic acid on the oxidative damage to myofibrillar proteins: the carbonylation pathway.

The carbonylation pathway involves the oxidative deamination of lysine residues to yield a carbonyl compound (α-aminoadipic semialdehyde) that can be further oxidised to α-aminoadipic acid and form Schiff bases structures. The effect of trolox and other phenolic compounds (PhC) (namely genistein, quercetin and gallic acid) on the protein carbonylation pathway occurred during the oxidation of myofibrillar proteins (MP) catalysed by a Fe(3+)/H2O2 system was studied. Trolox and PhC can exert either antioxidant or pro-oxidant capacities depending on their concentration, the oxidation conditions and the target in proteins. In general, quercetin and genistein showed an antioxidant activity towards lipid oxidation and the carbonylation pathway at different concentrations under the analysed conditions. Plausible mechanisms for the antioxidant and pro-oxidant effects of trolox and PhC on MP are discussed. Further research is needed to shed light on the effect of PhC mixtures on both lipid and protein oxidation.