On the role of ethylene bridge elongation in the antioxidant activity of polyhydroxylated stilbenes: A theoretical approach

The aim of this work is to investigate the elongation effect of the conjugated links of the 7–8 double bond of trans-resveratrol and its analogs on the antioxidant activity in vacuo and water using a quantum chemistry calculation by the Density Functional Theory (DFT) method. H atom transfer (HAT), single-electron transfer–proton transfer (SET–PT) and sequential proton loss electron transfer (SPLET) mechanisms were investigated. The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), and the spin density were calculated. The results reveal that the elongation of the conjugated links plays an important role in promoting the antioxidant properties of molecules because of its lowering effect on BDE, spin density, AIP, and PA values. The higher antioxidant activity of 3,4 dihydroxystilbene (A4) and trans,trans-3,4-dihydroxybistyryl (B4) may be from the abstraction of the hydrogen atoms of the ortho-position hydroxyls. This abstraction can occur continuously to form a semiquinone structure, or even a quinone structure. On the other hand, the compounds bearing the 4,4′-DHS skeleton exhibit strong antioxidant activity due to their para-quinone structure. The results indicate correspondences between the theoretical and the experimental results. Moreover, our calculations suggest that the HAT mechanism is the most important and dominant mechanism in vacuo, the SPLET mechanism is the most thermodynamically favourable pathway in water, while the SET–PT mechanism is not preferred in all the environments studied.