Question

Find information on:
1. ascorbic acid
2. benzocaine
3. cinnamaldehyde
4. pethidine

1. Propose a reaction (1 rxn) that could transform the molecule (or part
of the molecule, i.e. functional group) into a new compound (show
the new compound).

Answer 1

Ascorbic acid: Ascorbic acid is an organic acid with antioxidant properties. Its appearance is white to light yellow crystals or powder. It is water soluble and later it was found to have vitamin C activity in animals ("vitamin C" being defined as a vitamin activity. The L-enantiomer of ascorbic acid is commonly known as vitamin C. The biological role of ascorbate is to act as a reducing agent, donating electrons to various enzymatic and a few non-enzymatic reactions. Scurvy is an avitaminosis resulting from lack of vitamin C. Ascorbic acid is associated with chloroplasts and apparently plays a role in ameliorating the oxidative stress of photosynthesis. In addition, it has a number of other roles in cell division and protein modification. Recommendations for vitamin C intake have been set by various national agencies like 40 milligrams per day or 280 milligrams per week taken all at once is defined by the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency.

Benzocaine: Benzocaine is a local anesthetic commonly used as a topical pain reliever or in cough drops. It is the active ingredient in many over-the-counter other anesthetic ointments. Chemically, benzocaine is the ethyl ester of p-aminobenzoic acid. It can be prepared from p-aminobenzoic acid and ethano by Fischer esterification or via the reduction of ethyl p-nitrobenzoate. Benzocaine is sparingly soluble in water but solubility is high in dilute acids and in ethanol, chloroform and ethyl ether. It is useful as local anesthesia of oral and pharyngeal mucous membranes, otic pain andsurgical or procedural local anesthesia.

Cinnamaldehyde: Cinnamaldehyde is a pale yellow organic compound that gives cinnamon its flavor and odor. This viscous liquid occurs naturally in the bark of cinnamon trees. The trans-cinnamaldehyde isomer predominates in nature. Chemically, this molecule consists of a benzene ring attached to an unsaturated aldehyde. As such, the molecule can be viewed as a derivative of acrolein and Its color is because of the transition of π → π*. In metabolism, cinnamoyl-CoA reductase is an enzyme responsible for the production of cinnamoyl-CoA from cinnamaldehyde. The most common applications for cinnamaldehyde is as flavoring in chewing gum, ice cream, candy, and beverages.

Pethidine: Pethidine or meperidine is a synthetic opioid analgesic of the phenylpiperidine classas and serve as a potential anticholinergic agent. Further, pethidine is the most widely used opioid in labour and delivery and is the preferred painkiller for diverticulitis, because it decreases intestinal intraluminal pressure. It has some side effects that can be dangerous with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (e.g., furazolidone, isocarboxazid, moclobemide, phenelzine, procarbazine) and such patients may suffer agitation, delirium, headache. On the basis of pharmacokinetics, it is quickly hydrolysed in the liver to pethidinic acid and is also demethylated to norpethidine, which has half the analgesic activity of pethidine but a longer elimination half-life (8–12 hours).