Recent Developments in Effective Antioxidants: The Structure and Antioxidant Properties

Abstract

Since the last few years, the growing interest in the use of natural and synthetic antioxidants as functional food ingredients and dietary supplements, is observed. The imbalance between the number of antioxidants and free radicals is the cause of oxidative damages of proteins, lipids, and DNA. The aim of the study was the review of recent developments in antioxidants. One of the crucial issues in food technology, medicine, and biotechnology is the excess free radicals reduction to obtain healthy food. The major problem is receiving more effective antioxidants. The study aimed to analyze the properties of efficient antioxidants and a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of antioxidant processes. Our researches and sparing literature data prove that the ligand antioxidant properties complexed by selected metals may significantly affect the free radical neutralization. According to our preliminary observation, this efficiency is improved mainly by the metals of high ion potential, e.g., Fe(III), Cr(III), Ln(III), Y(III). The complexes of delocalized electronic charge are better antioxidants. Experimental literature results of antioxidant assays, such as diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing activity power assay (FRAP), were compared to thermodynamic parameters obtained with computational methods. The mechanisms of free radicals creation were described based on the experimental literature data. Changes in HOMO energy distribution in phenolic acids with an increasing number of hydroxyl groups were observed. The antioxidant properties of flavonoids are strongly dependent on the hydroxyl group position and the catechol moiety. The number of methoxy groups in the phenolic acid molecules influences antioxidant activity. The use of synchrotron techniques in the antioxidants electronic structure analysis was proposed.

Hepatoprotective Effects of Sweet Cherry Extracts (cv. Saco)

“…The obtained results were expectable, another evidence for the antioxidant potential of phenolics, which is, in part, attributed to their chemical structure, standing out the presence of hydroxyl and methoxy groups, and catechol residue, that easily donate neutralise free radicals and oxidative species, and chelate metals [76]. In fact, both capacities are not surprising, being in accordance with other studies [12,34,38,61].…”

Characteristics of Newly Developed Extruded Products Supplemented with Plants in a Form of Microwave-Expanded Snacks

“…It is likely that microwave energy was efficiently delivered to materials by interacting with the electromagnetic field, providing rapid energy transfer. This effect can cause structural and morphological changes to plant tissues, making them more accessible to solvent extraction [ 24 , 25 ].…”

Screening for the Active Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Polyphenols of Gaultheria procumbens and Their Application for Standardisation: From Identification through Cellular Studies to Quantitative Determination

“…In comparison to the standards (Trolox, ascorbic acid), all analytes except GT revealed potent antioxidant activity, mostly surpassing that of the standards, with the most substantial effects for all procyanidins (ECA, PB2, CB1) in the O 2 •− scavenging assay, and a flavonol aglycone (QU) and oligomeric procyanidins (PB2, CB1) in the FRAP test ( Table 2 ). The weak capacity observed for GT was not surprising as it lacks free phenolic groups, which are crucial for the direct antioxidant activity of polyphenols [ 43 ]. In the case of other analytes, also further structural elements, especially the glycosylation and polymerisation degree, influenced their activity.…”