Photooxidation of nitrosylmyoglobin at low oxygen pressure. Quantum yields and reaction stoechiometries

Photooxidation of the nitrite-cured meat pigment, nitrosylmyoglobin, in aqueous solution saturated with a 20% CO2/80% N2 gas mixture with varying oxygen contents (0.1, 0.5 or 1.0%) was found to depend linearly on the oxygen content for both visible (436 nm) and UV-light (366 nm). Quantum yields were similar for the two wavelengths of excitation in agreement with previous findings at higher oxygen pressures. The reaction stoechiometry for photooxidation was different from that of thermal oxidation (investigated at the same oxygen pressures) with a unity MbFe(II)NO/O2 ratio in the thermal reaction and a ratio larger than one for the photooxidation. For cured meat products packed in modified atmospheres light exposure may be even more harmful for the oxidative stability than expected from the concentration of residual oxygen.