| Popis: |
The antioxidant capacity of foods and beverages has attracted considerable interest, since antioxidants are believed to possess protective properties against numerous pathologies. However, research into the antioxidant capacity of beers worldwide is limited. In Britain, beers represent approximately half of the alcoholic beverage market and are therefore a significant contributor to dietary antioxidant intake. The major antioxidants, phenolic compounds, are derived from the “hop” and malt components, and their concentration has been shown to correlate with total antioxidant capacity (TAC). As a result, assays to determine TAC are useful tools to derive the antioxidant potential of foods and beverages. In this chapter, we present our findings on the TAC of several types of alcoholic beverage including ales and lagers (both bottled and draft), fruit beers and red wines. In addition, we investigate the relationship between beer color and TAC, and comment on the validity of systems such as that devised by the European Brewery Convention. For example, we show correlations between TAC when assessed by the ferric reducing ability of plasma assay with the darkness (p < 0.01), chroma (p < 0.05) and chromaticity x or relative redness (p < 0.01). We intend that this chapter provides sufficient insight and motivation to investigate the specific role of beer in health and disease prevention. |
