An antioxidant is a substance that at low concentrations delays or prevents oxidation of a substrate. Antioxidant compounds act through several chemical mechanisms: hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), single electron transfer (SET), and the ability to chelate transition metals. The importance of antioxidant mechanisms is to understand the biological meaning of antioxidants, their possible uses, their production by organic synthesis or biotechnological methods, or for the standardization of the determination of antioxidant activity. In general, antioxidant molecules can react either by multiple mechanisms or by a predominant mechanism. The chemical structure of the antioxidant substance allows understanding of the antioxidant reaction mechanism. This chapter reviews the in vitro antioxidant reaction mechanisms of organic compounds polyphenols, carotenoids, and vitamins C against free radicals (FR) and prooxidant compounds under diverse conditions, as well as the most commonly used methods to evaluate the antioxidant activity of these compounds according to the mechanism involved in the reaction with free radicals and the methods of in vitro antioxidant evaluation that are used frequently depending on the reaction mechanism of the antioxidant.

Phenolic compounds are secondary metabolites found most abundantly in plants. These aromatic molecules have important roles, as pigments, antioxidants, signaling agents, the structural element lignan, and as a defense mechanism. The expression of phenolic compounds is promoted by biotic and abiotic stresses (e.g., herbivores, pathogens, unfavorable temperature and pH, saline stress, heavy metal stress, and UVB and UVA radiation). These compounds are formed via the shikimate pathway in higher plants and microorganisms. The enzymes responsible for the regulation of phenolic metabolism are known, and shikimic acid is a central metabolite. The shikimate pathway consists of seven reaction steps, beginning with an aldol-type condensation of phosphoenolpyruvic acid (PEP) from the glycolytic pathway, and D-erythrose-4-phosphate, from the pentose phosphate cycle, to produce 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonic acid 7-phosphate (DAHP). A key branchpoint compound is chorismic acid, the final product of the shikimate pathway. The shikimate pathway is described in this chapter, as well as factors that induce the synthesis of phenolic compounds in plants. Some representative examples that show the effect of biotic and abiotic stress on the production of phenolic compounds in plants are discussed.

Nacobbus aberrans ranks among the “top ten” plant-parasitic nematodes of phytosanitary importance. It causes significant losses in commercial interest crops in America and is a potential risk in the European Union. The nematicidal and phytotoxic activities of seven plant extracts against N. aberrans and Solanum lycopersicum were evaluated in vitro, respectively. The chemical nature of three nematicidal extracts (EC50,48h ≤ 113 µg mL−1) was studied through NMR analysis. Plant extracts showed nematicidal activity on second-stage juveniles (J2): (≥87%) at 1000 µg mL−1 after 72 h, and their EC50 values were 71.4–468.1 and 31.5–299.8 µg mL−1 after 24 and 48 h, respectively. Extracts with the best nematicidal potential (EC50,48h < 113 µg mL−1) were those from Adenophyllum aurantium, Alloispermum integrifolium, and Tournefortia densiflora, which inhibited L. esculentum seed growth by 100% at 20 µg mL−1. Stigmasterol (1), β-sitosterol (2), and α-terthienyl (3) were identified from A. aurantium, while 1, 2, lutein (4), centaurin (5), patuletin-7-β-O-glucoside (6), pendulin (7), and penduletin (8) were identified from A. integrifolium. From T. densiflora extract, allantoin (9), 9-O-angeloyl-retronecine (10), and its N-oxide (11) were identified. The present research is the first to report the effect of T. densiflora, A. integrifolium, and A. aurantium against N. aberrans and chemically characterized nematicidal extracts that may provide alternative sources of botanical nematicides.

Chemical investigation of the aerial parts of Senecio polypodioides lead to the isolation of the new eudesmanoid 1β-angeloyloxyeudesm-7-ene-4β,9α-diol (1) and the known dirhamnosyl flavonoid lespidin (3), while from roots, the known 7β-angeloyloxy-1-methylene-8α-pyrrolizidine (5) and sarracine N-oxide (6), as well as the new neosarracine N-oxide (8), were obtained. The structure of 1 and 8 was elucidated by spectral means. Complete assignments of the (1)H NMR data for 5, 6, sarracine (7), and 8 were made using one-dimensional and two-dimensional NMR experiments and by application of the iterative full spin analysis of the PERCH NMR software.

Agro-industrial residues are a potential source of antioxidant compounds, which in general are phenolic compounds with a large chemical variability. The structure and the complexity of the phenolic compounds (polyphenols) determine their antioxidant capacity, pretreatments, and extraction methods. This chapter gives an overview of the chemical complexity of the phenolic compounds found in extractable and non-extractable fractions of agro-industrial residues, and representative compounds that are present in such residues are shown. Moreover, extraction methods described in this review showed the use of nonconventional technologies and chemical, enzymatic, or thermic treatments, useful to transform non-extractable polyphenols (NEP) to extractable polyphenol (EP) and then apply the EP extraction methods and recover antioxidants.