Really very good peice of information, infact at times some of these antioxidants also act as pro-oxidant in-vivo. Different methods as well as standards for relative value estimations are used which further complicates the matter.
In long run profiling of different compounds (mainly phenolics, flavonoids, tocopherols, vit C ...) will be important as new findings on biological roles of these compounds are being reported.
However, complexity of matter is some of these compounds have althogether different activity when used in isolation or combination. So total anti-oxidant capacity can still be used to provide vague idea on biological roles. In general foods with high antioxidant activity are rich in polyphenols and have been reported to express anti-cancer/anti-atherosclerosis activities.
Dr. Rakesh Bhardwaj
Senior Scientist (Biochemistry)
Germplasm Evaluation Division
National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR)
PUSA Campus, New Delhi - 110 012
India
Phone (+91)11-25848074(O),(+91)11-25842495(Fax)
(+91)9560487889 (M), (+91) 9015405449
Dear all,
Best wishes
Ruth
INFOODS coordinator
Ruth Charrondiere, PhD
Nutrition Officer
FAO
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00153 Roma
Italy
Telephone: +39 06 570 56 134
Fax: +39 06 570 54593