Antioxidants: Science, Technology, and Applications

Abstract

Antioxidants are compounds that are used to enhance shelf life and preserve the quality of fats and oils and lipid‐containing foods by suppressing oxidation reactions of their unsaturated components. These compounds could be naturally present, deliberately added, or generated during processing. Antioxidants are needed in small quantities to participate or interfere in the lipid autoxidation reaction cascade via various mechanisms. They should be easy to handle and use, cost‐effective, and readily available. Antioxidants should not impart any undesirable flavor, odor, or color to the food; they should be stable and safe for use in food. Application of these antioxidants differs depending on the nature of the food, conditions of intended processing, desired shelf life, and storage. However, antioxidants that are deliberately added to foods are thoroughly scrutinized for their safety and toxicology aspects. Their usage in food is regulated under different legislatures in various countries. This article examines the purpose of antioxidant use, chemistry of antioxidant activity, and naturally derived and synthetic compounds that exert antioxidative activity in foods, as well as the relevant technological, toxicological, and regulatory considerations.

Active Polypropylene-Based Films Incorporating Combined Antioxidants and Antimicrobials: Preparation and Characterization

“…Surprisingly, as reported in Table 5 , composite film with a combination of BHT, BHA and SA exhibited the highest antioxidant activity (a DPPH-RSA value of 90.8%). This can be probably explained by the possible synergism between BHA and BHT molecules, which has also been confirmed in earlier studies [ 78 ]. Besides, the presence of sorbic acid in T 4 film can act as a hydrogen donor resulting the inhibition of free radicals, which has been confirmed by previous studies on the antioxidant action of organic acids [ 79 ].…”

A Critical Review of the Abilities, Determinants, and Possible Molecular Mechanisms of Seaweed Polysaccharides Antioxidants

“…However, the results from different assays do not always agree, which may be attributed to the diverse mechanisms of the antioxidants. According to the action mode, there are primary and secondary antioxidants also referred to as chain breaking and preventive antioxidants [ 95 ]. Primary antioxidants commonly accept free radicals, breaking the propagation chain of autoxidation by inhibiting the initial step or interfering with the propagation step [ 96 ].…”

“…The activities of primary antioxidants are determined by their ability to donate hydrogen atoms to free radicals [ 97 ]. Secondary antioxidants alleviate oxidative stress by decreasing the rate of oxidation reactions via various mechanisms [ 98 ], such as providing H to a primary antioxidant, scavenging reactive oxygen and decomposing hydroperoxide [ 95 ]. Koh et al reported that the antioxidant activity of Undaria pinnatifida fucoidan had a significantly less free radical scavenging ability than both the synthetic antioxidants, ascorbic acid, and BHA, but it had a hydroxyl radical scavenging activity similar to BHA although still lower than ascorbic acid [ 99 ].…”

Remote Stereoelectronic Effects in Pyrrolidone- and Caprolactam-Substituted Phenols: Discrepancies in Antioxidant Properties Evaluated by Electrochemical Oxidation and H-Atom Transfer Reactivity

“…Research on antioxidants draws considerable attention, as illustrated by the nearly exponential increase in scientific publications on this topic . To a large extent, this continuing interest can be explained by two reasons: (i) the variety of applications (antioxidant systems in living organisms, dietary supplements, preservatives in food, , and other areas) and (ii) the breadth of the concept of “antioxidant” itself (i.e., preventing electron removal from a molecular entity, increase in the oxidation number, gain of oxygen, and/or loss of hydrogen). Generally, the ability of antioxidants to stop radical chains by intercepting free radicals is considered to be their most important feature. , This process can occur through several fundamentally different mechanisms. − The key mechanistic scenarios for phenols, one of the most common type of antioxidants, are presented in Scheme .…”