Activated oxygen species which may be important in initiating oxidative changes in foods include singlet oxygen, hydroxyl radical, ozone, superoxide anion (perhydroxyl radical at low pH), and hydrogen peroxide. Chemical and enzymic reactions known to occur in biological materials can generate singlet oxygen, hydroxyl radical, superoxide anion, and hydrogen peroxide. Ozone is primarily a product of photoreactions in polluted air. Reactions involving singlet oxygen, hydroxyl radical, and ozone with food constituents can ultimately yield peroxides which decompose to initiate oxidative chain reactions. Superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide are relatively inert toward organic molecules but can decompose to produce the more reactive singlet oxygen and hydroxyl radical. Inhibition of reactions initiated by reactive oxygen species in foods should be very important in preserving the oxidative stability of foods. The generation, detection, measurement, reaction, and inhibition of reactions of active oxygen species are surveyed in this review.

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Initiation of lipid peroxidation in foods may be accomplished by a variety of mechanisms. Two principal initiation reactions involve homolytic scission of preformed peroxides as catalyzed by metal ions and heme proteins and the reaction of activated oxygen species with the lipid substrate to yield peroxides and free radicals. Copper and cytochromes in the milk fat globule membrane may serve as focal points for initiation of lipid peroxidation by catalyzing homolytic scission of peroxides. Activated oxygen species which may be important in initiating oxidative changes in foods include singlet oxygen, hydroxyl radical, ozone, superoxide anion (perhydroxyl radical at low pH), and hydrogen peroxide. Chemical and enzymic reactions in biological materials can generate singlet oxygen, hydroxyl radical, superoxide anion, and hydrogen peroxide. Ozone is primarily a product of photoreactions in polluted air. Reactions involving singlet oxygen, hydroxyl radical, and ozone with food constituents ultimately can yield peroxides which decompose to initiate oxidative chain reactions. Superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide are relatively inert toward organic molecules but can decompose to produce the more reactive singlet oxygen and hydroxyl radical. Inhibition of reactions initiated by reactive oxygen species in foods should be very important in preserving the oxidative stability of foods. This paper presents a brief review of possible initiation reactions for lipid peroxidation and inhibition of reactions of activated oxygen species that are of importance in food systems.

Superoxide dismutase activity was shown to be present in bovine milk serum and was quantified by measuring the capacity of retentate from dialyzed milk serum to inhibit reduction of cytochrome c by xanthine-xanthine oxidase-generated superoxide anion. One unit of enzyme was defined as the quantity of superoxide dismutase which inhibits cytochrome c reduction by 20%. By this definition 19,500 units of enzyme were present per liter of retentate from dialyzed milk serum. This amount is equivalent to about 2.4 mg of purified bovine erythrocyte superoxide dismutase per liter. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of a partially-purified superoxide dismutase from acid whey, followed by staining for enzymic activity, confirmed the presence of the enzyme in milk serum which was identical in electrophoretic properties to those of bovine erythrocyte copper-zinc superoxide dismutase. Pasteurization at 63 C for 30 min did not decrease superoxide dismutase activity in milk serum. Heating of purified bovine erythrocyte-superoxide dismutase at 100 C for 1 min resulted in almost complete loss of enzymic activity, whereas the partially-purified superoxide dismutase from acid whey still retained 40% of the original activity under these conditions. Bovine milk superoxide dismutase may be an important naturally-occurring antioxidant for increasing oxidative stability of milk and other dairy products.