The cysteine releasing pattern of some antioxidant thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acids

•Thiazolidine carboxylic acids were synthesized with a series of benzaldehydes.•The antioxidant activity was evaluated via the DPPH and CUPRAC assays.•The cysteine releasing pattern of each thiazolidine compound was analyzed.•The antioxidant capacity was shown to be related not only to l-cysteine release.•Thiazolidine heterocycle itself can also be considered as antioxidant.

Oxidative stress that corresponds to a significant increase in free radical concentration in cells can cause considerable damage to crucial biological macromolecules if not prevented by cellular defense mechanisms. The low-molecular-weight thiol glutathione (GSH) constitutes one of the main intracellular antioxidants. It is synthesized via cysteine, an amino acid found only in limited amounts in cells because of its neurotoxicity. Thus, to ensure an efficient GSH synthesis in case of an oxidative stress, cysteine should be provided extracellularly. Yet, given its nucleophilic properties and its rapid conversion into cystine, its corresponding disulfide, cysteine presents some toxicity and therefore is usually supplemented in a prodrug approach. Here, some thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acids were synthesized and evaluated for their antioxidant properties via the DDPH and CUPRAC assays. Then, the cysteine releasing capacity of the obtained compounds was investigated in aqueous and organic medium in order to correlate the relevant antioxidant properties of the molecules with their cysteine releasing pattern. As a result, the structures’ antioxidative properties were not only attributed to cysteine release but also to the thiazolidine cycle itself.

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