Stability of the Antioxidant Activity of Flavonoids after Gamma Irradiation

Antônio Fernando de Melo Vaz, Marthyna Pessoa de Souza, Adriana Carla Cavalcante Malta Argôlo, Ana Maria Mendonça de Albuquerque Melo, Maria Luiza Vilela Oliva, Haroldo Sátiro Xavier, Luana Cassandra Breitenbach Barroso Coelho, Maria Tereza dos Santos Correia

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Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil.

DOI: 10.4236/fns.2011.25071                

Abstract

Food irradiation has the purpose of destroying insects or microorganisms, thereby increasing the safety and shelf life of foods. Flavonoids are ubiquitous plant secondary products with radical scavenger ability. In the present study their antioxidant stability after gamma irradiation was evaluated. The flavonoids showed fast scavenger ability measured with the 2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) after high doses of radiation. The low damage caused by irra- diation on antioxidant capacity of the flavonoids shows their potential use in combating chemical oxidation of bio- molecules in irradiated foods.

Keywords

Flavonoid, Food Irradiation, Scavenger Capacity, Gamma Irradiation

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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