Photogeneration of quinone methide-type intermediates from pyridoxine and derivatives

Scientific opinion on the tolerable upper intake level for vitamin B6

Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the tolerable upper intake level (UL) for vitamin B6. Systematic reviews of the literature were conducted by a contractor. The relationship between excess vitamin B6 intakes and the development of peripheral neuropathy is well established and is the critical effect on which the UL is based. A lowest-observed-effect-level (LOAEL) could not be established based on human data. A reference point (RP) of 50 mg/day is identified by the Panel from a case-control study, supported by data from case reports and vigilance data. An uncertainty factor (UF) of 4 is applied to the RP to account for the inverse relationship between dose and time to onset of symptoms and the limited data available. The latter covers uncertainties as to the level of intake that would represent a LOAEL. This leads to a UL of 12.5 mg/day. From a subchronic study in Beagle dogs, a LOAEL of 50 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day can be identified. Using an UF of 300, and a default bw of 70 kg, a UL of 11.7 mg/day can be calculated. From the midpoint of the range of these two ULs and rounding down, a UL of 12 mg/day is established by the Panel for vitamin B6 for adults (including pregnant and lactating women). ULs for infants and children are derived from the UL for adults using allometric scaling: 2.2-2.5 mg/day (4-11 months), 3.2-4.5 mg/day (1-6 years), 6.1-10.7 mg/day (7-17 years). Based on available intake data, EU populations are unlikely to exceed ULs, except for regular users of food supplements containing high doses of vitamin B6.

Vitamin B-6-Induced Neuropathy: Exploring the Mechanisms of Pyridoxine Toxicity

Vitamin B-6 in the form of pyridoxine (PN) is commonly used by the general population. The use of PN-containing supplements has gained lots of attention over the past years as they have been related to the development of peripheral neuropathy. In light of this, the number of reported cases of adverse health effects due to the use of vitamin B-6 have increased. Despite a long history of study, the pathogenic mechanisms associated with PN toxicity remain elusive. Therefore, the present review is focused on investigating the mechanistic link between PN supplementation and sensory peripheral neuropathy. Excessive PN intake induces neuropathy through the preferential injury of sensory neurons. Recent reports on hereditary neuropathy due to pyridoxal kinase (PDXK) mutations may provide some insight into the mechanism, as genetic deficiencies in PDXK lead to the development of axonal sensory neuropathy. High circulating concentrations of PN may lead to a similar condition via the inhibition of PDXK. The mechanism behind PDXK-induced neuropathy is unknown; however, there is reason to believe that it may be related to γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmission. Compounds that inhibit PDXK lead to convulsions and reductions in GABA biosynthesis. The absence of central nervous system-related symptoms in PDXK deficiency could be due to differences in the regulation of PDXK, where PDXK activity is preserved in the brain but not in peripheral tissues. As PN is relatively impermeable to the blood-brain barrier, PDXK inhibition would similarly be confined to the peripheries and, as a result, GABA signaling may be perturbed within peripheral tissues, such as sensory neurons. Perturbed GABA signaling within sensory neurons may lead to excitotoxicity, neurodegeneration, and ultimately, the development of peripheral neuropathy. For several reasons, we conclude that PDXK inhibition and consequently disrupted GABA neurotransmission is the most plausible mechanism of toxicity.

Mild and rapid method for the generation of ortho-(naphtho)quinone methide intermediates

A new mild method has been devised for generating o-(naphtho)quinone methides via fluoride-induced desilylation of silyl derivatives of o-hydroxybenzyl(or 1-naphthylmethyl) nitrate. The reactive o-(naphtho)quinone methide intermediates were trapped by C, O, N, and S nucleophiles and underwent "inverse electron-demand" hetero-Diels-Alder reaction with dienophiles to give stable adducts. The method has useful potential application in natural product synthesis and drug research.

Quinone methide generation via photoinduced electron transfer

Photochemical activation of water-soluble 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives (NIs) as alkylating agents has been achieved by irradiation at 310 and 355 nm in aqueous acetonitrile. Reactivity in aqueous and neat acetonitrile has been extensively investigated by laser flash photolysis (LFP) at 355 nm, as well as by steady-state preparative irradiation at 310 nm in the presence of water, amines, thiols, and ethyl vinyl ether. Product distribution analysis revealed fairly efficient benzylation of the amines, hydration reaction, and 2-ethoxychromane generation, in the presence of ethyl vinyl ether, resulting from a [4 + 2] cycloaddition onto a transient quinone methide. Remarkably, we found that the reactivity was dramatically suppressed under the presence of oxygen and radical scavengers, such as thiols, which was usually associated with side product formation. In order to unravel the mechanism responsible for the photoreactivity of these NI-based molecules, a detailed LFP study has been carried out with the aim to characterize the transient species involved. LFP data suggest a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) involving the NI triplet excited state (λ(max) 470 nm) of the NI core and the tethered quinone methide precursor (QMP) generating a radical ions pair NI(•-) (λ(max) 410 nm) and QMP(•+). The latter underwent fast deprotonation to generate a detectable phenoxyl radical (λ(max) 390 and 700 nm), which was efficiently reduced by the radical anion NI(•-), generating detectable QM. The mechanism proposed has been validated through a LFP investigation at 355 nm exploiting an intermolecular reaction between the photo-oxidant N-pentylnaphthalimide (NI-P) and a quaternary ammonium salt of a Mannich base as QMP (2a), in both neat and aqueous acetonitrile. Remarkably, these experiments revealed the generation of the model o-QM (λ(max) 400 nm) as a long living transient mediated by the same reactivity pathway. Negligible QM generation has been observed under the very same conditions by irradiation of the QMP in the absence of the NI. Owing to the NIs redox and recognition properties, these results represent the first step toward new molecular devices capable of both biological target recognition and photoreleasing of QMs as alkylating species, under physiological conditions.

Competing Excited State Intramolecular Proton Transfer Pathways from Phenol to Anthracene Moieties

Four new 9-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)anthracene derivatives 7-10 were synthesized and their potential excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) reaction investigated. Whereas 7 reacted via the anticipated (formal) ESIPT reaction (proton transfer to the 10-position of the anthracene), derivatives 8-10 reacted via ESIPT to both 9- and 10-positions, giving rise to two types of intermediates, quinone methides (e.g., 29) and zwitterions (e.g., 30). These intermediates are trapped by solvent (water or methanol) giving addition products that can readily revert back to starting material. However, on extended photolysis, the products that are isolated can best be rationalized as being due to competing elimination and intramolecular cyclization of zwitterions 30 and 37. These results show that it is possible to structurally tune ESIPT in (hydroxyphenyl)anthracenes to either result in a completely reversible reaction or give isolable anthracene addition or rearrangement products.

Excited state proton transfer (ESPT) from phenol to nitrogen and carbon in (2-hydroxyphenyl)pyridines

ESIPT and ESPT are the only photochemical deactivation pathways of the singlet excited states of 2-, 3- and 4-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)pyridines. Due to the existence of an intramolecular hydrogen bond in 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)pyridine, ESIPT leads only to protonation of the pyridine nitrogen. On the other hand, the singlet excited states of 3- and 4-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)pyridine undergo protonation of both nitrogen and carbon atoms of the pyridine ring, via ESIPT or ESPT. The extent of ESIPT to carbon (as measured by extent of deuterium incorporation) can be controlled by the amount of water in the solvent system.

Photogeneration of 1,5-naphthoquinone methides via excited-state (formal) intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) and photodehydration of 1-naphthol derivatives in aqueous solution

The photochemistry of naphthols 1, 2, 4, 5 and 9, and phenol 10 has been studied in aqueous solution with the primary aim of exploring the viability of such compounds for naphthoquinone and quinone methide photogeneration, along the lines already demonstrated by our group for phenol derivatives. 1-Naphthol (1) is known to be substantially more acidic than 2-naphthol (2) in the singlet excited state (pKa* = 0.4 and 2.8, respectively) and it was expected that this difference in excited-state acidity might be manifested in higher reactivity of 1-naphthol derivatives for photochemical reactions requiring excited-state naphtholate ions, such as quinone methide formation. Our results show that three types of naphthoquinone methides (26a, 26b, and 27) are readily photogenerated in aqueous solution by irradiation of 1-naphthols. Photolysis of the parent 1-naphthol (1) in neutral aqueous solution gave 1,5-naphthoquinone methide 26a as well as the non-Kekulé 1,8-naphthoquinone methide 26b, both via the process of excited-state (formal) intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT), based on the observation of deuterium exchange at the 5- and 8-positions, respectively, on photolysis in D2O–CH3CN. A transient assignable to the 1,5-naphthoquinone methide 26a was observed in laser flash photolysis experiments. The isomeric 2-naphthol (2) was unreactive under similar conditions. The more conjugated 1,5-naphthoquinone methide 27 was formed efficiently via photodehydroxylation of 4; isomeric 5 was unreactive. The efficient photosolvolytic reaction observed for 4 opens the way to design related naphthol systems for application as photoreleasable protecting groups by virtue of the long-wavelength absorption of the naphthalene chromophore.Key words: photosolvolysis, excited-state intramolecular proton transfer, quinone methide, photorelease, photoprotonation.

Photogeneration of o-Quinone Methides from o-Cycloalkenylphenols

6-Alkylidenecyclohexa-2,4-dienones (o-quinone methides II) have been generated by photolysis of 2-(2'-cycloalkenyl)phenols 1 and trapped by methanol to give the ring-opened products 2. The best results have been obtained with the cyclohexenyl derivatives 1a, 1e, and 1f. In the case of the cyclopentenyl derivative 1b, photoproduct 2b was not observed, whereas only small amounts of 2c and 2d were formed from the seven- and eight-membered ring analogues 1c and 1d. Thus, ring size appears to be a key factor in the formation of o-quinone methides. This experimental result has been rationalized by means of density-functional theory (DFT) calculations. On the other hand, phenol substitution also appears to play a role in the process. Thus, electron-withdrawing groups such as CF(3) (1f) accelerate the reaction, whereas the opposite is true for electron-donating groups such as OCH(3) (1e). This is explained by an excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) mechanism, as the above results are consistent with the excited-state acidities of the different phenols. The lack of reactivity in the case of ketone 1g, where the intersystem crossing quantum yield is close to unity, allows us to rule out a mechanism involving the triplet state.

Novel generation of an o-quinone methide from 2-(2'-cyclohexenyl)phenol by excited state intramolecular proton transfer and subsequent C-C fragmentation

Formation of an o-quinone methide via C-C fragmentation of a zwitterion formed by intramolecular excited state proton transfer from an o-allylphenol derivative is reported for the first time.