Use of a free radical method to evaluate antioxidant activity

The antiradical activities of various antioxidants were determined using the free radical, 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH*). In its radical form. DPPH* has an absorption band at 515 nm which dissappears upon reduction by an antiradical compound. Twenty compounds were reacted with the DPPH* and shown to follow one of three possible reaction kinetic types. Ascorbic acid, isoascorbic acid and isoeugenol reacted quickly with the DPPH* reaching a steady state immediately. Rosmarinic acid and δ-tocopherol reacted a little slower and reached a steady state within 30 min. The remaining compounds reacted more progressively with the DPPH* reaching a steady state from 1 to 6 h. Caffeic acid, gentisic acid and gallic acid showed the highest antiradical activities with a stoichiometry of 4 to 6 reduced DPPH* molecules per molecule of antioxidant. Vanillin, phenol, γ-resorcylic acid and vanillic acid were found to be poor antiradical compounds. The stoichiometry for the other 13 phenolic compounds varied from one to three reduced DPPH* molecules per molecule of antioxidant. Possible mechanisms are proposed to explain the experimental results.