Antioxidative effect

Ascorbic acid also forms soluble chelate complexes with iron (142—145). It seems ascorbic acid has no effect on high iron levels found in people with iron overload (146). It is well known, in fact, that ascorbic acid in the presence of iron can exhibit either prooxidant or antioxidant effects, depending on the concentration used (147). The combination of citric acid and ascorbic acid may enhance the iron load in aging populations. Iron overload may be the most important common etiologic factor in the development of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, and possibly other disorders. The synergistic combination of citric acid and ascorbic acid needs further study, particularly because the iron overload produced may be correctable (147). 

In antioxidants, synergism appears to arise either from one antioxidant effectively regenerating another so that the latter does not become consumed or by the two antioxidants functioning by differing mechanisms. The latter is more important and it is easy to see how effective a combination of peroxide decomposer and chain-breaking antioxidant can be. 

A cooperative interaction between two or more antioxidants (or antioxidant function) that leads to an overall antioxidant effect greater than the sum of the individual effects of each antioxidant is referred to as synergism. Synergism can be achieved in different ways. It may arise from the combined action of two chemically similar antioxidants, e.g., two hindered phenols (homosynergism), or when two different antioxidant functions are present in the same molecule (autosynergism) the latter is exemplified by many commercial antioxidants (e.g., Irgastab 2002, AO 29 Table lb), which have CB and UVA activity. 

Tawa, R., and Sakurai, H. (1997). Determination of four active oxygen species such as H2O2, OH, OJ and 02 by luminol-and CLA-chemiluminescence methods and evaluation of antioxidative effects of hydroxybenzoic acid. Anal. Lett. 30 2811-2825. 

A specific role for vitamin E in a required metabolic function has not been found. In addition to its direct antioxidant effects, a-tocopherol has been reported to have specific molecular functions. 

Bio activities found for some of the polysaccharides described in this chapter have been assigned to certain structural features. The antioxidant effect of the Cuscuta chinensis pectin was proposed to be caused by the presence of a glucobiose unit linked via a GalA unit on the RG-I polymer [53], but this structural feature was not found for the anti-oxidant polysaccharide from Tinospora cordifolia [78,79]. 

Marcuse, R. (1960). Antioxidative effect of amino-acids. Nature, Vol.186, No.4728, (June I960), pp. 886-887, ISSN 0028-0836. 

HARPER, A, KERR, D J, GESCHER, A and CHIPMAN K J (1999) Antioxidant effects of isoflavonoids and lignans, and protection against DNA oxidation. Free Rad Res. 31149-60. 

SERAFiNi N, GHiSELLi A and FERRO-Luzzi A (1996) "In vivo antioxidant effect of green tea and black tea in man , Eur J Clin Nutr, 50, 28-32. 

TANG s z, KERRY J p, SHEEHAN D, BUCKLY D J and MORRISSEY p A (2001) Antioxidative effect of dietary tea catechins on lipid oxidation of long-term frozen stored chicken meat , Meat Sci, 56, 285-90. 

The aim of our project was to study phloem as a source of fiber and polyphenols, and to develop a method to improve its taste without losing the potentially bioactive polyphenols. In addition, we wanted to investigate the bioavailability, cholesterolemic and antioxidative effects and safety of phloem and its phytonutrients in humans in a randomised double-blind trial. 

DUH p D, YEN G c, YEN w J and CHANG L w (2001) Antioxidant effect of water extracts from barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) prepared under different roasting temperatures , J Agric Food Chem, 49 (3) 1455-63. 

Among the plant phenols, the flavonoids and the anthocyanidins, belonging to the 1,3-diphenylpropans, have been studied in most detail, mainly because of their potential health benefits. With more than 4,000 different flavonoids known, systematic studies of the effects of variation in molecular structure on physico-chemical properties of importance for antioxidative effects have also been possible (Jovanovic et al, 1994 Seeram and Nair, 2002). Flavonoids were originally found not to behave as efficiently as the classic phenolic antioxidants like a-tocopherol and synthetic phenolic antioxidants in donating... 

Fig. 16.4 Interaction between quercetin (Quer) and iron and the balance between pro-oxidative and antioxidative effects. Quercetin may reduce Fe(H20) to yield Fe(H20) active in the Fenton region forming hydroxyl radicals ( OFI) or alkoxyl radicals ( OR), in effect being pro-oxidative. In contrast, quercetin may form a complex with iron(II), inactive in reducing FI2O2 to OFI, but rather oxidised in the quercetin ligand, in effect being antioxidative. Quer (-H) is the phenoxyl radical.

There has been some evidence of a higher antioxidant effect when both flavonoids and a-tocopherol are present in systems like LDL, low-density lipoproteins (Jia et al., 1998 Zhu et al, 1999). LDL will incorporate a-tocopherol, while flavonoids will be present on the outside in the aqueous surroundings. A similar distribution is to be expected for oil-in-water emulsion type foods. In the aqueous environment, the rate of the inhibition reaction for the flavonoid is low due to hydrogen bonding and the flavonoid will not behave as a chain-breaking antioxidant. Likewise, in beer, none of the polyphenols present in barley showed any protective effect on radical processes involved in beer staling, which is an oxidative process (Andersen et al, 2000). The polyphenols have, however, been found to act synergistically... 

In the water-like solvent tert-butyl alcohol, a-tocopherol was found to prevent lipid oxidation, showing a distinct lag-phase for oxygen consumption. This was in contrast to quercetin or epicatechin, which were only weak retarders of lipid oxidation without any clear antioxidative effect. Quercetin or epicatechin, when combined with a-tocopherol, increased the lag-phase for oxygen consumption as seen for a-tocopherol alone. The stoichiometric factor for a-tocopherol, a-TOH, as chain-breaking antioxidant has the value n = 2 according to the well-established mechanism ... 

Flavonoids are chain-breaking antioxidants in lipid-like solvents like chlorobenzene, although the k(inh) is smaller than for a-tocopherol and the lag-phase accordingly less evident. For peroxidating lipids in chlorobenzene the clear lag-phase for a-tocopherol became longer when quercetin or catechin were present. The effect appears to be additive and a regeneration of a-tocopherol by quercetin or catechin in this lipid-like solvent should rather be termed a co-antioxidative effect (Pedrielli and Skibsted, 2002). 

Knowledge of the identity of phenolic compounds in food facilitates the analysis and discussion of potential antioxidant effects. Thus studies of phenolic compounds as antioxidants in food should usually by accompanied by the identification and quantification of the phenols. Reversed-phase HPLC combined with UV-VIS or electrochemical detection is the most common method for quantification of individual flavonoids and phenolic acids in foods (Merken and Beecher, 2000 Mattila and Kumpulainen, 2002), whereas HPLC combined with mass spectrometry has been used for identification of phenolic compounds (Justesen et al, 1998). Normal-phase HPLC combined with mass spectrometry has been used to identify monomeric and dimeric proanthocyanidins (Lazarus et al, 1999). Flavonoids are usually quantified as aglycones by HPLC, and samples containing flavonoid glycosides are therefore hydrolysed before analysis (Nuutila et al, 2002). 

The terminology describing the action of antioxidants is unfortunately not clear. Terms such as antioxidant power , antioxidant effectiveness , antioxidant ability , antioxidant activity , and antioxidant capacity are often used interchangeably and without discrimination. Here we use the term antioxidant activity as meaning a measure of the rate of antioxidant action, and the term antioxidant capacity as meaning a measure of the extent of antioxidant action, i.e. the amount of radicals or intermediates and products produced during oxidation that are quenched by a given antioxidant. Thus antioxidant activity is related to the kinetics of the antioxidant action and antioxidant capacity to the stoichiometry. 

BisHov s J, MASUOKA Y and KAPSALis J G (1977) Antioxidant effect of spices, herbs and protein Hydrolyzates in freeze-dried model systems Synergistic action with synthetic phenolic antioxidants, J Foot/ Processing Preservation, 1, 153-66. 

YOUNG J F, DRAGSTED L O, HARALDSDOTTIR J, DANESHVAR B, KALL M A, LOFT S, NILSSON L, NIELSEN S E, MAYER B, SKIBSTED L H, HUYNH-BA T, HERMETTER A and SANDSTROM B (2002) Green tea extract only affects markers of oxidative status postprandially lasting antioxidant effect of flavonoid-free diet, Brit J Nutr, 87, 343-55. 

FUKUSHIJ (1996) Edible rice bran oil III antioxidant effects of gamma oryzanol. /fokfanWo-ritus Elsei Kenkyushoho, 16 111. 

TOMEO A c, GELLER M (1995) Antioxidant effect of tocotrienols in patients with hyperlipidemia and carotid stenosis. Lipids, 30 1179-83. 

Palozza, P. and Krinsky, N.I., Antioxidant effects of carotenoids in vivo and in vitro an overview, Meth. EnzymoL, 213, 403, 1992. 

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