Flavonoid oxidation kinetics in aqueous and aqueous organic media in the presence of peroxidase,tyrosynase, and hemoglobin

The kinetics of oxidation reactions of flavonoids, quercetin, dihydroquercetin, and epicatechin has been studied in the presence of biocatalysts of different natures: horseradish peroxidase, mushroom tyrosinase, and hemoglobin from bull blood. Comparison of the kinetic parameters of the oxidation reaction showed that peroxidase appeared to be the most effective biocatalyst in these processes. The specificity of the enzyme for quercetin increased with increasing the polarity of the solvent in a series of ethanol–acetonitrile–dimethyl sulfoxide.