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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Light-driven Enzymatic Decarboxylation
Published on: May 22, 2016
Acid-catalyzed conversion of sesamolin to sesamol: Kinetics and reaction mechanism based on density functional theory
Ling-Shuai Liu1, Yu-Meng Yu1, Chen-Xia Zhang1
1College of Food Science and Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
Abstract:
Sesamol is a significant lignan in sesame oil, which can be converted from sesamolin under acid-catalyzed conditions. The effects of several factors on the conversion of sesamolin to sesamol under acid-catalyzed conditions were investigated. The conversion kinetics were studied and the relevant conversion mechanism was revealed by density functional theory (DFT). The results indicated that catalyst dosage and substrate concentration had significant effects on the yield of sesamol. The conversion of sesamolin conformed to the characteristics of a first-order kinetics reaction within the range of 50-70 °C. The activation energy of the reaction was 35.78 ± 1.21 kJ/mol. The energy barrier to be crossed for the formation of intermediates in generating sesamol was 237.83 kJ/mol; the energy barrier to be overcome for the formation of intermediates in generating sesaminol was 266.95 kJ/mol. This study provides information relevant to increasing the percentage of sesamol in processed sesame oil.
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