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Post-column NAUKA
detection

OF ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY

There are two possible ways to determine the antioxidant activity of plant derived samples (food, beverages,
herbal extracts). In the first one, the antioxidant activity of the sample is estimated on the basis of the total content
of antioxidants. In the second one, the high-performance liquid chromatography is used to separate antioxidants
while the post-column detection is used for their identification and to determine their contribution to the total
antioxidant activity of the sample. For the post-column detection of antioxidants the most popular are free radical
decolorization assays which are based on deactivation of synthetic free radicals (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl
(DPPH•), 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) cation (ABTS•+)). The second category of on-line
antioxidant activity assays is based on electrochemical detection. High in vivo relevance is provided by those
methods which enable to evaluate the scavenging capacity of antioxidants against reactive oxygen species. The
majority of those methods are based on luminol chemiluminescence.

ANALITYKA – NUMER 1, ROK (XVIII) 2017 13