Antioxidant activity occurring

Seabra et al., [17] performed fractionated high pressme extractions from dry and in natura elderberry pomace in order to obtain anthocyanin rich extracts. Experiments were carried out using CO2 supercritical fluid extraction followed by enhanced solvent extraetion (ESE) with C02/ethanol-water mixtures (1-100%, v/v), to obtain anthocyanin rich fractions in the second step, at 313 K and 20 MPa. Higher extract yields, anthocyanin contents and antioxidant activities occurred by the presence of water, both in the raw material and in the solvent mixture. The CO2 dissolved in the ESE solvent mixture favored either anthoeyanin contents or antioxidant activities, which were not directly related. 

Synthetic antioxidants (4-hexyhesorcinol, see Section 10.2.3.4) and natural antioxidants approved in the EU as food additives, such as ascorbic acid, its salts, fatty acid esters and analogues (erythorbic acid) and tocopherols are included in Chapter 5. Natural compounds with antioxidative activity occurring in herbs and spices, including the extracts of rosemary (E392), are addressed in Section 10.3.3.7. 

Probucol. Probucol is an antioxidant that is effective in lowering LDL cholesterol. Whereas probucol was known to lower cholesterol after relatively simple clinical trials (160), its mechanism of action as an antioxidant in the treatment of atherosclerosis is quite novel. Probucol has been shown to have the abiUty to produce regression of atherosclerotic lesions in animal models (161). Probucol therefore represents a novel class of pharmaceutical agent for the treatment of atherosclerosis. This effect occurs mechanistically, in part, by preventing oxidation of LDL, a necessary step in foam cell formation. This antioxidant activity has been shown in laboratory experiments and its activity in lowering LDL cholesterol in human studies is well documented (162). 

Bisphenol derivatives show very good antioxidant activity and are the best materials for light coloured articles. Selected materials are FDA approved. These derivatives have low volatility and no effect on cure rate and do not give a bloom. A slight pink discoloration can occur after prolonged exposure to light in white or light coloured products. 

Naturally occurring compounds such as phytochemicals, which possess anticar-cinogenic and other beneficial properties, are referred to as chemopreventers. One of the predominant mechanisms of their protective action is due to their antioxidant activity and the capacity to scavenge free radicals. Among the most investigated chemopreventers are some vitamins, plant polyphenols, and pigments such as carotenoids, chlorophylls, flavonoids, and betalains. Resolution of the potential protective roles of... 

Flavonoids protect LDL from oxidation, delaying the onset of lipid peroxidation, however, the prevention of atherosclerosis by flavonoids occurs not only by the inhibition of LDL oxidation, but also by the increase of cellular resistance to harmful effects of the oxidized LDL (de Luis and Aller, 2008). The antioxidant activity of anthocyanidins, as well as their protective role against LDL oxidation, has been well demonstrated in different in vitro systems (Aviram and Fuhrman, 2002 Satue-Gracia and others 1997 Teissedre and others 1996). 

There is the often-overlooked group of polyphenols containing the derivatives of hydro-xycinnamic and hydroxybenzoic acids such as caffeic, chlorogenic, and gallic acids (Figure 29.8), which occur in food and exhibit certain antioxidant activity. For example, some caffeic acid esters isolated from propolis from honeybee hives showed antiinflammatory... 

Carotenoids are isoprenoid compounds that are biosynthesized only by plants and microorganisms. Some carotenoids (a- and p-carotene, p-cryptoxanthine) can be cleaved into vitamin A (retinol) by an enzyme in the small intestine. Carotenoids have been reported to present some effects in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases [410] and in the prevention of some kind of cancers [411]. Furthermore, antioxidant activity has been widely reported [411-414] but a switch to pro-oxidant activity can occur as a function of oxygen concentration [415,416]. 

Whatever the mechanism of action for the inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase by flavonoids, it appears to be distinct from the antioxidant properties of these compounds. The results comparing antioxidant activity with leukotriene inhibitory activity clearly demonstrate this distinction. The profound effects of metabolic transformation on the anti-inflammation activity of dietary flavonoids such as quercetin must also be considered in relation to in vitro studies, and further highlights the need to use actual metabolic forms of flavonoids rather than the free aglycone or glycosides occurring in the diet. 

The structure of ascorbic acid resembles an alpha-hydroxy acid, which is generally not appreciated. Ascorbic acid is present in most fruits, and may underlie some of the effects attributed to fruit extracts. Vitamin C has pronounced HA-stimulating effects in the fibroblast assay. But its antioxidant activity confounds the effects it may induce. The deposition of HA is stimulated when Vitamin C is added to cultured fibroblasts. The most profound changes occur in the compartmentalization of HA. The preponderance of the enhanced HA becomes cell-layer instead of being secreted into the medium.240,261 The chemical reactions catalyzed by ascorbic acid that bind HA to cell or matrix components are not known. 

Ethoxyquin occurs as a clear yellow to red liquid that may darken with age without affecting its antioxidant activity. It is a mixture consisting predominantly of the monomer (C14H19NO). It also contains dimers and other polymers of C14H19NO. Its specific gravity is about 1.02, and its refractive index is about 1.57. 

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