| Autor: |
Nwachukwu ID; School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA., Sarteshnizi RA; School of Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada.; Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran 14115-111, Iran., Udenigwe CC; School of Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada.; Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada., Aluko RE; Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.; Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada. |
| Abstrakt: |
Antioxidants remain interesting molecules of choice for suppression of the toxic effects of free radicals in foods and human systems. The current practice involves the use of mainly synthetic molecules as potent antioxidant agents. However, due to the potential negative impact on human health, there is an intensive effort within the research community to develop natural alternatives with similar antioxidant efficacy but without the negative side effects of synthetic molecules. Still, the successful development of new molecules depends on the use of reliable chemical or cell culture assays to screen antioxidant properties. Chemical antioxidant assays include the determination of scavenging ability against free radicals such as DPPH, superoxide anion radicals, hydroxyl radicals, hydrogen peroxide, and nitric oxide. Other antioxidant tests include the ability of compounds to bind and sequester prooxidant metal cations, reduce ferric iron, and attenuate the rate of lipid oxidation. Ex vivo tests utilize cell cultures to confirm entry of the molecules into cells and the ability to quench synthetic intracellular free radicals or to stimulate the increased biosynthesis of endogenous antioxidants. In order to assist researchers in their choice of antioxidant evaluation methods, this review presents background scientific information on some of the most commonly used antioxidant assays with a comparative discussion of the relevance of published literature data to food science and human nutrition applications. |
