Nishani Perera - May 16

Lipophilized Derivatives of Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG): Preparations and Bioactivities

Green tea polyphenols (GTP) are a major source of dietary phenolics that render a myriad of health benefits. Among them, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) has been considered as being effective in both food and biological systems. However, its application and benefits may be compromised due to limited absorption and bioavailability. In order to expand the application of EGCG to more diverse systems, it may be lipophilized through structure modification. In this work, lipophilized derivatives of EGCG were prepared by acylation with different chain lengths fatty acyl chlorides such as acetyl chloride – C2:0, propionyl chloride – C3:0, hexanoyl chloride – C6:0, octanoyl chloride – C8:0, dodecanoyl chloride – C12:0, octadecanoyl chloride – C18:0 and docosahexaenoyl chloride – C22:6. The resultant products, mainly tetra-esters, were purified and used for further experiments. The lipophilicity of the esters increased with increasing chain length of the acyl group and also led to the enhancement of antioxidant properties, that were evaluated using assays like 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and reducing power of the molecules involved.