Policing Polyphenols

USDA researchers concluded that an HPLC coupled with coulometric array detection procedure provides a fast and accurate method for characterizing overall antioxidant status and identifying and quantifying specific antioxidant components in fruits and vegetables. This is important because of the large number of potential plant species as well as the large number of potential antioxidant components that need to be investigated. Of course, subsequent analysis with other tools such as MS will typically be required for positive verification but substantial time can be saved by limiting the use of the time-consuming MS method to compounds that have already been identified through their voltammetric potential. Researchers in other studies have also demonstrated the effectiveness of this method in similarly characterizing antioxidant status of urine, plasma and tissue samples.

Coulometric detection has the potential to provide a valuable tool for identifying specific polyphenols that may prevent disease and for pinpointing the types and varieties of plants that have a positive health impact.

References:

1. Acheson, R. M.; Williams, D. R. R. Does consumption of fruit and vegetables protect against stroke? Lancet 1983, 1, 1191-1193.
2. Ames, B. M. Dietary carcinogens and anticarcinogens: Oxygen radicals and degenerative diseases. Science 1983, 221, 1256-1263.
3. Hertog, M. G. L.; Feskens, E. J. M.; Hollman, P. C. H.; Katan, M. B.; Kromhout, D. Dietary antioxidant flavonoids and the risk of coronary heart disease: The Zutphen Elderly Study. Lancet 1993, 342, 1007-1011.
4. Cao, G.; Sofic, E.; Prior, R. L. Antioxidant and prooxidant behavior of flavonoids: Structure-activity relationships. Free Radical Biol. Med. 1997, 22, 749-760.
5. Gey, K. F. The antioxidant hypothesis of cardiovascular disease: Epidemiology and mechanisms. Biochem. Soc. Trans. 1990, 18, 1041-1045.

*All graphics in this article previously appeared in the Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry, 1997, 45, pgs. 1787-1796. Published by the American Chemical Society.

Jerry Fireman, president of Structured Information (Lexington, Mass.) can be reached 781-674-2300, ext. 100 or [email protected].