Inhibitory effects of selected phenolic acids on the oscillations of the Briggs-Rauscher reaction

Abstract

Phenolic acids are secondary metabolites of aromatic plant that possess prominent antioxidant activity. When an antioxidant is added to an active oscillating Briggs-Rauscher reaction mixture, there is an immediate cessation of the oscillations, an inhibition time that linearly depends on the concentration of the antioxidant added, and a subsequent regeneration of oscillations. In this study, the effects of concentration of the ethanol solutions of selected phenolic acids (gallic, caffeic, chlorogenic, rosmarinic, p-coumaric and m-coumaric acids) on the oscillatory system Briggs-Rauscher reaction were investigated. The reaction was performed in a constantly stirred reactor, with accurately defined concentrations of reactants, at constant temperature of 25°C. Flow oscillations in the Briggs-Rauscher reaction mixture were monitored as a change in potential between the platinum electrode and silver/silver chloride reference electrode. Relative antioxidant activities of phenolic acids were determined in three ways on the basis of inhibition times. The obtained results showed that the gallic and p-coumaric acids have much less antioxidant activity than the caffeic, chlorogenic and rosmarinic acids. The ability to inhibit oscillations of the Briggs-Rauscher reaction mixture is not showed for m-coumaric acid.