earticle

영어

The beneficial effects of fruits, vegetables, and beverages on human health have been attributed to their antioxidant activities. Therefore, antioxidant activity of food products is recognized as one of the important parameters in determining their functional values. Until now, antioxidant activity has been measured by various chemical and biological methods; however, many factors confound the reliability and reproducibility of measurements of antioxidant activity of food. In vitro methods may provide a useful indication of antioxidant activity but their results may not translate to the human biological system, while in vivo tests are difficult to carry out due to the intricate processes of uptake, cellular transportation, and metabolism of individual antioxidant components. Therefore, as long as these limitations exist, our best option is to measure the antioxidant activity in food directly. This review briefly summarizes currently available methods for the measurement of antioxidant activity in food and examines their respective validity.