Relationship between structure and anti-oxidation of tocopherol with molecular orbit theory.

AIM: To explore the relationship between different structures of tocopherol (Toc) and some phenol compounds and their anti-oxidative activities. METHODS: Use the ab initio calculation of molecular mechanics and quantum chemistry. RESULTS: The anti-oxidation of Toc was related to the ability to release active hydrogen, i.e., related to the O-H electron populations, frontier orbital energy (au), and the decreased amount of energy at the reaction ending stage. The order of hydroxyl O-H electron populations in different Toc model molecules were alpha < gamma < or = beta < delta, which was consistent with their anti-oxidation reported. CONCLUSION: The molecular orbit (MO) theory and the quantum chemical parameters can be used to analyze the anti-oxidation of phenol compounds with different structures.