Evaluation of the accuracy of antioxidant competition assays: incorrect assumptions with major impact

A Kinetic Approach in the Evaluation of Radical-Scavenging Efficiency of Sinapic Acid and Its Derivatives

A kinetic approach was used to determine the radical scavenging activities of sinapic acid and its derivatives: sinapine, 4-vinylsyringol, syringic acid, syringaldehyde, and ethyl, propyl and butyl sinapate. The responses were expressed as rates of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH˙) scavenging (RS), superoxide radical (O₂˙-) scavenging (RFF), and β-carotene bleaching in the emulsion system (RB). For RS and RB, the esters of sinapic acid showed the highest responses while, for RFF, this was seen for syringic acid. The effectiveness of the selected compounds for scavenging these free radicals was also determined at a fixed endpoint. The early response parameters were demonstrated to be good discriminators in assessing differences for antioxidants with comparable fixed endpoint activity. The primary feature that ranks the kinetic data and the endpoint determinations is interpreted in terms of the mechanisms of the reactions involved in each of the assays conducted.

Glutathione revisited: a better scavenger than previously thought

Glutathione (GSH) is the classical example of a scavenging antioxidant. It forms the first line of defense and efficiently scavenges reactive species, e.g., hypochlorous acid (HOCl), before they inflict damage to biomolecules. Scavenging antioxidant activity is best established in competition assays (that closely mimics molecular mechanism of the biological effect). In this type of assay, the antioxidant competes with a molecule that functions as an easy read-out detector for a reactive species. It is generally assumed that the scavenging antioxidant activity reflects the reaction rate constant of the antioxidant with the reactive species (k_a). However, critical appraisal of several competition assays of GSH with HOCl as reactive species, reveals that k_a does not determine the scavenging antioxidant activity. Assays using acetylcholine esterase, alpha1-antiprotease, methionine, and albumin as detector are compared. The total number of molecules of the reactive species scavenged by GSH plus that by partially oxidized forms of the GSH, reflect the scavenging activity of GSH. The contribution of the partially oxidized forms of GSH depends on the reactivity of the competing molecule. In several assays the partially oxidized forms of GSH have a substantial contribution to the scavenging activity of GSH. In contrast to the prevailing perception, not the reaction rate but rather the total number of molecules of the reactive species scavenged reflects the true scavenging activity of an antioxidant like GSH.

Mathematical modeling of area under the curve assessment criteria to quantify the antioxidant and pro-oxidant capacity: Coffee extracts as a case study

The development of a convenient mathematical application for testing the antioxidant and pro-oxidant capacity is essential in order to investigate potential sources of new agents and processes. In this regard, authors use the standardized values of the area under the curve of a kinetic profile of a dose-response agent, as a way to bypass the complex process of analyzing the kinetic variations of agents. In general, linear approaches are used, but such patterns frequently lead to unreliable results and misinterpretations, making it extremely difficult to compare the results from different assays. In this work, we have demonstrated the non-linearity of the dose-response area under the curve assessment criteria by means of simulations. A simple non-linear dose-response model was developed to describe the accurate response. As a case study, experimental data of extracts of unroasted coffee beans from five different country-climate locations for the two most common coffee varieties (Robusta and Arabica) were obtained using the β-carotene and crocin bleaching in vitro assays. Their antioxidant capacity was analyzed in detail and compared with commercial standards. The results show that the antioxidant capacity was greater than some of the commercial standards in terms of its maximum capacity, while when the analyses are based on rate parameters, the coffee extracts show between 6 and 40 times lower values than the standard antioxidants. In addition, to illustrate the advantages of using the standardized area units and the mathematical model developed, other more complex scenarios were recreated. We believe that the model application developed provides a simple alternative to summarize meaningful parameters that characterize the response, facilitates rigorous comparisons among the effects of different compounds and experimental approaches and helps to comprehend multi-variable scenarios.

Reaction of ruthenium(II) complexes with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) and hydroxyl radicals

The reaction of the complexes trans-[RuII(NO+)(NH3)4L] and [RuII(NO+)HEDTA] with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) and hydroxyl (OH•) radicals has been investigated at 25.0 ± 0.1 °C using spectroscopic (UV-vis and electron paramagnetic resonance) and electrochemical techniques (differential pulse voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry). The redox potential of RuIII/RuII for the ruthenium nitrosyl complexes was determined and is in the range of +2.2 V (L = HEDTA) to +2.6 V (L = isn) versus the normal hydrogen electrode . The trans-[RuII(NO+)(NH3)4L]3+ and [RuII(NO+)HEDTA] complexes do not react with the DPPH• radical in aqueous solution at pH = 3.0. However, the corresponding aquo species, trans-[RuII(H2O)(NH3)4L]2+ and [RuII(H2O)HEDTA]+, respectively, react quantitatively, resulting in metal center oxidation. The trans-[RuII(NO+)(NH3)4L]3+ and [RuII(NO+)HEDTA] complexes react with OH• through a complicated pathway that leads to metal center oxidation followed by a series of secondary reactions. In addition to acting as NO donors, after their reduction, these ruthenium(II) nitrosyl complexes exhibit, through their generated aquo species, a radical scavenging ability, which is important for better understanding the already proven biological activity of these ruthenium nitrosyls in vivo.

Assay dilution factors confound measures of total antioxidant capacity in polyphenol-rich juices

The extent to which sample dilution factor (DF) affects total antioxidant capacity (TAC) values is poorly understood. Thus, we examined the impact of DF on the ORAC, FRAP, DPPH, and total phenols (TP) assays using pomegranate juice (PJ), grape juice (GJ), selected flavonoids, ascorbic acid, and ellagic acid. For ORAC, GJ was comparable to PJ at DF 750, but at DF 2000, the ORAC value of GJ was 40% more than PJ. Increasing DF increased GJ and PJ, DPPH, TP, and FRAP values 11% and 14%, respectively. Increased test concentrations of quercetin and catechin resulted in 51% and 126% greater ORAC values, but decreased naringenin by 68%. Flavonoids, but not ellagic acid or ascorbic acid, may contribute to the dilution effect on the variation of final TAC values. Thus, reporting TAC or TP using a single DF may introduce uncertainty about the confidence of TAC assay values, especially when comparing different juices. These results underscore the importance of using compatible test standards for reporting TAC values.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) values such as the ORAC assay are increasingly used for comparison of polyphenol-rich foods and beverages. Choice of standards and test concentrations, even within the linear range of standards, may introduce variation probably due to synergy/antagonism between antioxidant and thereby, confound final TAC values. Thus, test concentration or dilution factors of samples should be considered in the design of TAC assays and interpretation of their results.

Prevention of a systematic underestimation of antioxidant activity in competition assays. The impact of unspecific reactions of the reactive species

In antioxidant competition assays, an antioxidant (A) and a detector compound (D) compete for a reactive species (R). In the evaluation of these assays, it is tacitly assumed that all of R is captured by either D or A. Due to the - by definition - high reactivity of R, unspecific reactions of R are likely to occur and neglecting these reactions will result in a systematic underestimation of antioxidant activity. It was shown that in the standard hydroxyl radical scavenging assay this was indeed the case; the inaccurate mathematical evaluation resulted in an underestimation of antioxidant activity of 25% in this competition assay. The systematic underestimation of antioxidant activity can be prevented by using an adjusted Stern-Volmer equation that takes into account that only part of R is captured by D or A.