Scavenging of Toxic Acrolein by Resveratrol and Hesperetin and Identification of Adducts.

The objective of this study was to investigate the ability of resveratrol and hesperetin to scavenge acrolein at pH 7.4 and 37 °C. About 6.4 or 5.2% of acrolein remained after reaction with resveratrol or hesperetin for 12 h at equimolar concentrations. An acrolein-resveratrol adduct and two acrolein-hesperetin adducts were isolated. Their structures were elucidated using mass and NMR spectroscopy. Acrolein reacted with resveratrol at the C-2 and C-3 positions through nucleophilic addition and formed an additional heterocyclic ring. Two similar monoacrolein-conjugated adducts were identified for hesperetin. Spectroscopic data suggested each acrolein-hesperetin adduct was a mixture of four stereoisomers due to the existence of two chiral carbon atoms. Yield of adducts was low at pH 5.4 but increased at pH 7.4 and 8.4. Higher pH also promoted the formation of diacrolein adducts. Results suggest that resveratrol and hesperetin exert health benefits in part through neutralizing toxic acrolein in vivo.