Solvent effects and improvements in the deoxyribose degradation assay for hydroxyl radical-scavenging

The deoxyribose degradation assay is widely used to evaluate the hydroxyl (OH) radical-scavenging ability of food or medicines. We compared the hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity of 25 antioxidant samples prepared in ethanol solution with samples prepared after removing the ethanol (residue). The data suggested that there was an approximately 9-fold difference between assay results for the ethanol solution and residue samples. This indicated a strong alcoholic interference. To further study the mechanism, the scavenging activities of 18 organic solvents (including ethanol) were measured by the deoxyribose assay. Most pure organic solvents (especially alcohols) could effectively scavenge hydroxyl radicals. As hydroxyl radicals have extremely high reactivities, they will quickly react with surrounding solvent molecules. This shows that any organic solvent should be completely evaporated before measurement. The proposed method is regarded as a reliable hydroxyl radical-scavenging assay, suitable for all types of antioxidants.