Antioxidative effect of several porphyrins on lipid peroxidation in rat liver homogenates.

The effect of several porphyrins on Fe2(+)-ascorbic acid-stimulated lipid peroxidation was examined in rat liver homogenates. Not only protoporphyrin IX (PP) but also mesoporphyrin IX and hematoporphyrin inhibited the lipid peroxidation. Some porphyrins, in which 6- and 7-carboxyethyl groups were esterified with a methyl group, such as protoporphyrin IX dimethyl ester and mesoporphyrin IX dimethyl ester, had no antioxidative effect. Hemin and zinc protoporphyrin IX, which are metal-chelated porphyrins, inhibited the lipid peroxidation while cobalt protoporphyrin IX and tin protoporphyrin IX showed no antioxidative effect. Thus, some of the porphyrins used in the present study showed an antioxidative effect as did PP, but the others did not show such an effect.