The iron(IV) binding protein ferrylmyoglobin,
MbFe(IV)O,
was found to be reduced by tyrosine based food components in aqueous
solution through a sequential proton loss electron transfer reaction
mechanism without binding to the protein as confirmed by isothermal
titration calorimetry. Dopamine and epinephrine are the most efficient
food components reducing ferrylmyoglobin to oxymyoglobin, MbFe(II)O<sub>2</sub>, and metmyoglobin, MbFe(III), as revealed by multivariate
curve resolution alternating least-squares with second order rate
constants of 33.6 ± 2.3 L/mol/s (Δ<i>H</i><sup>⧧</sup> of 19 ± 5 kJ/mol, Δ<i>S</i><sup>⧧</sup> of −136 ± 18 J/mol K) and 228.9 ±
13.3 L/mol/s (Δ<i>H</i><sup>⧧</sup> of 110
± 7 kJ/mol, Δ<i>S</i><sup>⧧</sup> of 131
± 25 J/mol K), respectively, at pH 7.4 and 25 °C. The other
tyrosine based food components were found to reduce ferrylmyoglobin
to metmyoglobin with similar reduction rates at pH 7.4 and 25 °C.
These reduction reactions were enhanced by protonation of ferrylmyoglobin
and facilitated proton transfer at acidic conditions. Enthalpy–entropy
compensation effects were observed for the activation parameters (Δ<i>H</i><sup>⧧</sup> and Δ<i>S</i><sup>⧧</sup>), indicating the common reaction mechanism. Moreover, principal
component analysis combined with heat map were performed to understand
the relationship between density functional theory calculated molecular
descriptors and kinetic data, which was further modeled by partial
least squares for quantitative structure–activity relationship
analysis. In addition, a three tyrosine residue containing protein,
lysozyme, was also found to be able to reduce ferrylmyoglobin with
a second order rate constant of 66 ± 28 L/mol/s as determined
by a competitive kinetic method