Antioxidant properties of 4-vinyl derivatives of hydroxycinnamic acids

The compounds 4-vinylphenol (4-VP), 4-vinylguaiacol (4-VG), 4-vinylsyringol (4-VS) and 4-vinylcatechol (4-VC) were prepared by thermal decarboxylation of the corresponding hydroxycinnamic acids p-coumaric, ferulic, sinapic and caffeic acid, respectively. For confirmation of the synthesised products LC–MS followed by NMR analysis was used. To evaluate their antioxidant potential, their reducing power and efficiency in scavenging the alkylperoxyl radical generated in an emulsion system, the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and the superoxide anion radical ( O 2 - ) were determined. All tested 4-vinyl derivatives revealed weaker antioxidant activity in a homogeneous polar medium than the corresponding phenolic acids. In the emulsion system the activity for 4-vinyl derivatives was higher than was the activity of their corresponding phenolic acids, with 4-VG as the most active among the tested phenolic compounds.