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If theres one thing cancer survivors will always recall from their

experience in battling cancer is the significance of antioxidant that drives


them to their victory . It has been explained that antioxidant is a
compound that can eliminate free radical formation or and also protecting
the cell by hydrogens or electrons to reactive radicals( Debnath , P.Park ,
Nath , Samad ,H.Park , Lim ,2011 ) . Research has shown that the this
compound is most abundant in fruits and vegetables . It has been
discovered that plant phenolics are discovered to be found in both parts of
plants whether non-edible and edible and has multiple biological effects
such as antioxidant activity(Babbar , Operoi , Uppal , Patil , 2011).For
example , the pineapple fruit is considered famous due to its high vitamin
c content .However recent research indicated that it also has generous
levels of antioxidant content( Hossain & Rahman ,2011). Antioxidant level
in fruits are dependent based on their effectiveness of different methods
in evaluating the antioxidant level in the fruits , the relationship between
the phenolic content and antioxidant levels and the recognition from
fellow scientists as a great source of antioxidant .
In any scientific research, a good procedure or methodology is needed to
produce the outcome that is needed . Upon observation it seems that the
majority has adopted the radical-scavenging of ABTS as an efficient
method in determining the antioxidant level of the fruits( Ramful , Tarnus ,
Aruoma ,Bourdun , Bahorun , 2011) . This method according to them is
quite simple as it requires different fruit extract to scavenge a synthetic
nitrate solution. As it has been explained by Babbar et.al(2011) , ABTS
also has its own speciality of being completely invincible by the effects of
polyphenols such as metal ion chelation and enzyme inhibition. In contrast
with Ramful et.al (2011) , they used a combination of three different
methods in evaluating the antioxidant concentratiom which were the
trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) , ferric-reducing antioxidant
capacity (FRAP) and hypochlorous acid scavenging activity ( HOCI). They
argued that antioxidant in fruits can never be accurately evaluated via a

single system due to their phytochemicals and their reactions. This


magnifies the importance of adopting more than one assay system in
evaluating the antioxidant level. Hossain and Rahman( 2011) seemed to
furthur support this argument however they also adopted the ABTS
radical-scavenging method . But they also included other procedures such
as the phospolybdenum method . It seems that although multi-assay
system is not much preferred in the evaluation of antioxidants in fruits but
it sems to produce a more accurate and promising result as it provides
several evidences for support .
Based on the five researches that were performed , it has been discovered
that the correlation between phenolic content and antioxidant has been
identified as a vital factor of antioxidant level effectiveness in fruits . One
research reported by Debnath et al.(2011) that investigates the Gardenia
jasminoides Ellis fruit by dividing it into water-based and ethanol-based
extracts . As already been stated , the antioxidant level in this research is
determined via the ABTS scavenging method . In the water-based extract ,
it has been discovered that the scavenging activity is between the 27.8%
and 96.4% while in the methanol extract is between 19.0% and 94.3 % .
The water-based extract was found to be 96.4% significantly higher than
compared to 94.3% . It has been concluded in the research that high
phenolic content might be responsible . Besides this , this claim can also
be corroborated by a research conducted by Hossain and Rahman(2011)
which investigates the antioxidant content of a tropical pineapple fruit . In
their study , it has been found that methanol extract has the highest
antioxidant content followed by ethyl acetate extract and water extract .
This sequence is found to be similar to that of their phenolic contents and
with that bears a striking relationship between antioxidant and phenolic
content . An experiment conducted by Ramful et al.(2011) and . From the
experiment of Ramful et al(2011) the results were quite promising as it
has been found that the two species of kumquat with the highest total
phenolic contents also showed the highest TEAC and FRAP values . On
another side two species of lemon with low phenolics content showed a
moderate correlation of TEAC values while with FRAP values it displayed

poor correlation . Another experiment reported by Kubola and


Siriamornpun(2011) , the Thai gac fruit also reported a similar account . In
the case of the Thai gac fruit , the case of pulp ( green ) , the antioxidant
activity of extract decrease from green to full ripe stage . The decrease in
antioxidant activity might be caused due to the decrease in phenolics
stage during the development stage of the Thai gac fruit .

However in an account by Babbar et al.(2011) reveals a slightly more


interesting outcome . In their experiment , the six fruit residues have been
studied for their antioxidant and phenolic content which are grape seed ,
litchi pericarp , litchi seeds , banana peel , kinnow peel and kinnow
seeds .In determining the phenolic content , Folin-Ciocalteu method was
used .The phenolic content was highest in grape seed followed by litchi
pericarp , litchi seeds ,kinnow peel , banana peel and and kinnow seeds .

While in determining the antioxidant level , the ABTS method was used .
In this study , the kinnow peel which has been known to have a low total
phenolic content compared to litchi seeds , litchi pericarp and grape seed
but exhibits the highest antioxidant level compared to all the plants in this
study . By this study which they made a conclusion that the antioxidant
activity is not solely dependent on phenolic content alone . Other nonphenolic components ascorbates, reducing carbohydrates, tocopherols,
carotenoids, terpenes and pigments could also possible have play a role in
the antioxidant activity. Based on all the arguments weve seen in this
chapter , we can wrap up that the idea that the phenolic content
contributing wholly to the antioxidant level in fruits is not agreed upon
completely . But this doesnt deny the phenolic content large role and
even if non-phenolics did have a part , its not really that much of a big
deal .

Antioxidants in fruits is not something new in the science world . In fact , it


has been widely recognized and can be agreed as a consensus that fruits
are among the most beneficial and reliable source of antioxidant
.Moreover , natural phenolics are more preferable than their synthetic
counterpart as they have high capability to delocalize odd electrons and
polyphenolsare highly active antioxidants(Debnath et al.2011). Thus
,physicians and nutritionists rely mostly on natural antioxidants from
vegetables and fruits .In the food industry , antioxidations are added as
food preservatives as they are known to stop the oxidation process from
occurring . Hossain and Rahman(2011) further explains the mechanism by
describing that phenolics in fruits have scavenging ability by acting as
reducing agents , hydrogen donors and singlet oxygen terminators .
Kubola and Siriamornpun(2011) also has an academic contribution that
could reinforce the reign of natural antioxidants over the synthetic
antioxidants . Their study of the Thai gac fruit has lead them to the
uncovering of beta carotene and lycopene . Amazingly , lycopene has

been linked to various victories in defeating in some type of cancers such


as prostrate , digestive-tract and lung cancers .For Beta-Carotene converts
vitamin A and this is needed for health and proper development of cell
membranes .
If we consider synthetic antioxidant compounds such as butylated
hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) , they may
have some function but scientists still have doubts towards their reliability
as they have been identified as potential agents of carcinogenesis .To add
salt to the wound , Hossain and Rahman(2011) even reported that these
synthetic compounds are restricted in their application in the industry due
to their more unknown effects . So this signifies the need of natural
antioxidants by the food industry in food preservation effectively . And
thankfully , various researches from around the world especially from firstclass countries in prioritizing natural oxidants obtained from fruits and
vegetables .

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