Acceleration and inhibition of lipid oxidation by heme compounds

The acceleration and inhibition of unsaturated fatty acid oxidation by heme compounds was followed in model systems with an oxygen analyzer. The linoleate to heme molar ratios for maximum catalysis were 100 for hemin and catalase, 250 for metmyoglobin, 400 for cytochrome c and 500 for methemoglobin. With heme concentrations of 2 to 4 times the optimum catalytic amount, no oxidation occurred. Rapid heme destruction was observed with catalyzing ratios of lipid to heme, but with inhibitory ratios a stable red compound formed, believed to be a lipid hydroperoxide derivative of the heme. The ratios of lipid to metmyoglobin for maximum acceleration varied with the pH. Linolenate was much less sensitive to heme catalysis than linoleate. Colorless products of heme degradation had a marked antioxidant effect. A possible mechanism for the antioxidant effect of hemes is advanced, based on the formation of stable heme peroxide complexes or stable heme radicals, or both, during the early stages of oxidation. Prooxidant activity is believed to occur only when the peroxide to heme ratio is so high that the oxidation of the hemes goes beyond the initial stages.