Abstract

Cinnamic acid, chemically known as 3-phenyl-2-propenoic acid is has a broad spectrum of pharmacological actions including antioxidant activity. The esterification and selective reduction of the acid led to ethyl cinnamate and cinnamyl alcohol, respectively. Cinnamic acid demonstrated a poor antioxidant activity (IC50) of 1.2 µg mL-1 while ethyl cinnamate and cinnamyl alcohol elicited activities of 0.64 µg mL- 1 (moderate) and 0.84 µg mL-1, respectively. The obtained results indicate that esterification enhances the antioxidant activity of cinnamic acid.

Key words: Cinnamic acid; esterification; selective-reduction; ethyl cinnamate; cinnamyl alcohol