Modifying Redox Active Vitamins and Coenzymes for Improved Efficiency

The exact biological function of many vitamins remains a highly contentious area of research. For example, vitamin E is one of the most widely studied vitamins but uncertainties in its true biological function have increased in the new millennium. One reason for the controversy is because many of the supposed benefits of a diet enriched in vitamin E have not been realized in clinical trials. Since free radical damage has been linked to aging, it has been argued that vitamin E should have significant health benefits (by preventing free radical damage) if taken as a dietary supplement.-Medical trials on the health effects of vitamin E and other antioxidants (such as vitamin C) have often resulted in contradictory findings, with no definitive study that proves vitamin E, or other antioxidants, are beneficial when consumed in doses above what is present naturally in a well-balanced diet. Furthermore, while vitamin E certainly has antioxidant properties in the laboratory, there is scanty evidence that these antioxidant properties are important in real biological systems. Therefore, vitamin E's role as an antioxidant has become more controversial or uncertain as more research is conducted. -In this proposal, voltammetric and spectroscopic (EPR, UV-vis, FTIR) techniques will be used to examine the electrochemical (redox) properties of vitamins (A, B, C, D, E, K) and low molecular mass coenzymes. The compounds will be examined in aqueous and non-aqueous solvents, and the liposoluble compounds will also be examined inside artificial bilayer membranes. New compounds will be synthesised to test whether the electron transfer properties can be improved via small changes to the natural structure. The results of the study could lead to the development of new improved forms of vitamins with significant health benefits that are potentially marketable within the multibillion dollar health supplement industry.