COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES OF ASCORBIC ACID AND REDUCTOGENIC COMPOUNDS

Abstract

The antibacterial spectra of ascorbic acid, inosose, dihydroxyacetone, acetoin, diacetyl, 1,2-cyclohexanedione and l-phenyl-l,2-propanedione are similar. Qualitative tests for reductones indicated that inosose, dihydroxyacetone, acetoin, and diacetyl may form derivatives with enediol groups. In addition, it was demonstrated by chromatog-raphy that ascorbic acid undergoing autoxidation yields 2 reductones which were unidentified. Short term growth experiments indicate that the enediol group per se has no antibacterial properties, but that the oxidized enediol (diketone) produces immediate bacteriostasis. The diketone groups resulting from oxidation of enediol groups may be responsible for the antibacterial properties of autoxidized ascorbic acid and the reductogenic compounds .