Methods for the determination of antioxidant capacity in food and raw materials

Abstract

A comprehensive description of the most frequently used methods to determine the antioxidant activity in food and raw materials is given. The methods are classified into two categories, depending on the type of the assessment carried out. Several methods for the assessment of antioxidant efficacy using free radical scavenging such as Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity Assay (ORAC), Total Radical Trapping Antioxidant Parameter assay (TEAC), Ferric reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP) and 2,2′-diphenyl- 1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay are described. An example of methods based on the assessment of antioxidant efficacy using significant biological substrates is also presented. Critical opinions concerning the proposed methods are presented. © 2010 Landes Bioscience and Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.