The Basic Mechanism of Antioxidants and Its Potentials

Abstract

The term "antioxidant capacity" refers to a substance's capacity to shield a biological system from the potentially harmful effects of procedures or reactions involving reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS). The biological, medical, nutritional, and agrochemical industries have paid growing attention to the protective benefits of antioxidants, which has led to a need for quick, easy, and accurate methods for determining antioxidant capacity. Numerous techniques have been developed and assessed in the literature; these techniques differ from one another in terms of reaction settings, oxidant and target/probe species, and reaction mechanisms. The most popular techniques for measuring antioxidant capacity are discussed in this review, along with their general principles, most current applications, and advantages and disadvantages. The analytical conditions, substrate, and antioxidant content should closely mimic those of real food or biological systems when selecting the antioxidant capacity technique. The total antioxidant capacity value should take into account strategies that apply to both lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidants, taking into account the similarities and differences of both hydrogen atom transfer and electron transfer methods. It is also necessary to create approaches including various ROS/RNS to fully evaluate a sample's antioxidant potential.