Determination of the Antioxidant Capacity of Red Fruits by Miniaturized Spectrophotometry Assays

• Published in: Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society Vol. 30; no. 5; pp. 1108 - 1114
• Main Authors: Becker, Magda, Nunes, Gilvanda, Ribeiro, Danilo, Silva, Francisco, Catanante, Gaëlle, Marty, Jean‑Louis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Química, SBQ 2019; Sociedade Brasileira de Química
• Subjects: Analytical chemistry; Chemical Sciences; CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY; Food engineering; Life Sciences; Medicinal Chemistry; antioxidant capacity; red fruits; miniaturized assays
• ISSN: 0103-5053; 1678-4790; 1678-4790
• DOI: 10.21577/0103-5053.20190003

Natural sources with high antioxidant capacity represent an interesting potential to prevent or minimize the oxidative stress that causes many chronic diseases. The antioxidant capacity of red fruits (strawberry and cherry) was evaluated by miniaturized spectrophotometric methods 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT). ABTS and DPPH colorimetric methods are based on the ability of antioxidants to scavenge synthetic free radicals produced in vitro, which have a different chemical structure from the natural reactive oxygen species generated in the human body. In this respect, the NBT method stands up because it is based on O 2 •-scavenging which is generated in vitro by enzymatic reaction systems. The spectrophotometric assays adapted on microtiter plates allowed a rapid, inexpensive and simultaneous analysis. Larger amounts of lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidants were obtained from strawberry fruit, which showed the lowest 50% signal inhibition concentration (IC 50) values. The fruit analyzed showed promising sources of bioactive compounds with high antioxidant properties.