This study aimed at investigating the effect of L-ascorbic acid on the Cu 2+ -induced oxidation of quercetin, within a pH range from 6.7 to 8.3 and temperatures varying from 53 to 87 • C. Initial examinations showed that quercetin degradation obeyed apparent first-order kinetics and it was significantly affected by temperature. Modelling of the effect of L-ascorbic acid by implementing response surface methodology suggested that L-ascorbic acid did not impact quercetin oxidation significantly (p < 0.05) and led to an empirical kinetic model based on temperature (T) and pH. Liquid chromatography-diode array-mass spectrometry analyses revealed the presence of typical quercetin degradation and oxidation products, including protocatechuic acid and 2-(hydroxybenzoyl)-2-hydroxybenzofuran-3(2H)-one. It was concluded that the formation of L-ascorbyl or other radicals (superoxide anion) may be involved in quercetin oxidation and this fact merits further attention to illuminate the possible beneficial or adverse nutritional consequences of such reactions in foods.ChemEngineering 2018, 2, 46 2 of 14 was shown to exhibit improved antioxidant characteristics [7]. More recent data on this particular product were in the same line, revealing a 200-fold higher cytoprotective potency [8].L-Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is a well-known food antioxidant that may eliminate a spectrum of oxidising species, such as superoxide anion radical (O 2 •− ), hydroxyl radical (OH • ) and singlet oxygen, due to its ease of oxidation by either a one-or two-electron transfer [9,10]. Ascorbic acid may also lower the oxidation state of metals, such as iron and copper, and their valence, thus affecting oxidation catalysis. These unique features make L-ascorbic acid a powerful antioxidant, capable to protect a variety of substrates from oxidation. L-Ascorbic acid may be rapidly oxidised in the presence of bivalent copper (Cu 2+ ), but the extent of oxidation may be limited in the presence of metal-chelating flavonoids, such as quercetin [11,12]. However, L-ascorbic acid may also act as an antioxidant in such a system, protecting quercetin from Cu 2+ -induced oxidative degradation [5]. Therefore, depending on the conditions (pH, temperature, the presence of other redox species, relevant amounts of redox species implicated), in a system containing L-ascorbic acid, quercetin and Cu 2+ , one antioxidant may be sacrificed at the expense of the other, yet a prediction regarding the eventual shift of such a cascade of reactions would be rather difficult, due to the high complexity. This being the case, this study aimed at modelling the effect of L-ascorbic acid on quercetin stability in the presence of Cu 2+ , considering the kinetic behaviour of quercetin degradation as a function of pH and temperature. Following a preliminary investigation, the interactions between L-ascorbic acid and quercetin were modelled by deploying response surface methodology. Tentative characterisation of major quercetin oxidation products using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry ...