Features and Benefits

Compatible with high-throughput handling systems.

General description

Antioxidants are molecules which act as reducing agents by donating electrons to free radicals to stabilize them and minimize the damage caused by free radicals to DNA, cells and organ systems. Antioxidants include substances such as polyphenols; flavonoids; vitamins and enzymes like glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase. They are known to have beneficial health effects such as lowering the risk of cancer, heart disease and neurodegenerative disorders and are abundantly found in plants, fruits, vegetables, beverages and natural products.

Principle

Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay is a widely used method that uses antioxidants as reductants in a redox-linked colorimetric reaction, wherein Fe3+ is reduced to Fe2+. Ferric (Fe3+) to ferrous (Fe2+) ion reduction at low pH causes formation of a colored ferrous-probe complex from a colorless ferric-probe complex. The assay is high-throughput adaptable and can detect antioxidant capacities as low as 0.2 mM Fe2+ equivalents.

Suitability

Suitable for the measurement of antioxidant capacity in fruits, vegetables, beverages (like tea and wine), food products, plant extracts, herbal products, serum and plasma.