Total Antioxidants Capacity Kerry Ginn ,Theya Mzizi and Caren Watson

Total Antioxidant Capacity

Total antioxidant capacity relates to the amount of protective properties, that foods such as fruit and vegetables contain.The term most often used is TAC. This analysis of the food takes into account water-based and lipid based antioxidants that are present in food. TAC describes the abilities of antioxidants within fruit and vegetables, to aid in the reversal of the harmful free radicals within the blood and cells of our bodies. TAC amounts within our bodies can determine how the body reduces free radical attacks. The more antioxidants that can share their electrons the less free radical damage the body has to endure.

(Harasym and Oledzki, 2013)

How they are classified

Fruits and vegetables are abundant with antioxidants. There is now considerable evidence that supports their interaction with the human body.The body has to deal with oxidative stress which the free radicals create.

Therefore the sources that contain large amounts of antioxidants can be the most beneficial(Harasym and Oledzki, 2013). The amount of antioxidants that they contain can be determined using Oxygen

Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) or Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Activity (TEAC). Either of these two ways can show the TAC of the chosen food. Both scales give high readings for foods that contain larger amounts of antioxidants ( Wang et al,1996; Harasym and Oledzki,2013).TEAC can determine the true total antioxidant capacity of a compound that is

independent of the concentration of the antioxidant( Arnao et al., 2001)

This diagram shows the TAC of selected fruits in their 100g fresh weight Trolox[umol]

This diagram shows TAC using the ROCA method

Total dietary antioxidant capacity (TDAC)

This is just another explanation of the use of TAC.TDAC from fruits and vegetables has been associated to overall mortality rates of a Spanish cohort study, which investigated a European Prospective around Cancer (Agudo et al., 2007).TDAC has been shown to have positive effects with conditions such as in heart failure, stroke and gastric cancer (Rautiainen et al., 2012:2013 and Serafini et al., 2012).

Positive outcomes of TAC

TAC can be used to identify bio-chemical markers for oxidative stress in HIV-1 infected patients. It can be used to reduce tissue damage by diminishing the amount of free radicals damaging the body(Suresh et al.,2009).

TAC can monitor and optimize antioxidant therapies in HIV-1 infected patients (Suresh et al.,2009) .

TAC may have vital protective qualities on glucose tolerance, especially in older obese women( Okobu et al., 2013)

Summary

There are many different scales that can be applied to TAC.They may give different values, however they all show that fruit and

vegetables contain high levels of antioxidants. These can help our bodies to fight free radical damage.TAC is the bridge between both of these scales. This is because

applying either scale will result in a TAC amount for the chosen fruit or vegetable.

Reference list

Arnao, M.B., A. Cano, J.F. Alcolea and M. Acosta.( 2001)Estimation of free radical-quenching activity of leaf pigment extracts. Phytochemical. Analysis[online], 12 (2001), pp.138-143.Available from: <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pca.571/abstract > [accessed 15 February 2015].gnclivewell.com.ac.(2010), ROCA of Fruits [ONLINE] Available at: <http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=TOTAL%20ANTIOXIDENT%20CAPCITY%20OF%20FRUIT&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=total%20antioxident%20capcity%20of%20fruit&sc=0-11&sp>[Accessed 16 February 15].Harasym ,J . And Oledzki, R. (2013) Effects of fruit and vegetable antioxidants on total antioxidant capacity. Nutrition [online], 30 (2013),pp 511-517.Available from: Science Direct [accessed 14 February 2015].

Reference list Han ,J. H. ,Lee, H . J., Cho ,M;R., Chang, M., Kim , Y., Oh ,S .Y ., and Kang, M.H.(2014) Total antioxidant capacity of the Korean diet. Nutrition Research and Practice [online], 8(2),pp.183–191.Available from: <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3988508/> [accessed 15 February 2015].Okubo ,H., Syddall ,H.E., Phillips, D, I ,W., Sayer, A .A., Dennison ,M.E ., Cooper , C. and Robinson, S.M.(2014)Dietary total antioxidant capacity is related to glucose tolerance in older people: The Hertfordshire Cohort Study. Nutrition Metabolism Cardiovascular Disease [online],24(3),pp.301–308.available from: <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4112602/ > [accessed 15 February 2015]. Suresh, DR., Annam , V. ,Pratibha , K . and Prasad.(2009) Total antioxidant capacity –a novel early biochemical maker of oxidative stress in HIV infected individuals. Journal of biomedical science[online], 16 (2009),p16. Available from: Academic OneFile [accessed 15 February 2015].