Oxidation is a natural process that produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human bodies during metabolism. Once formed, ROS can create a chain of radical reactions and cause damage to human cells. Antioxidants are the substances which can scavenge ROS or can inhibit the reactive oxidants from being formed in the first place. Due to this benefit, research aimed at elucidating the mechanisms by which antioxidants contribute to good health has intensified over the last decades.
In our study, we tried to measure the total antioxidant capacity of spinach and kale via two assays, Cupric Reducing Antioxidant Capacity (CUPRAC) and Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). In contrast to the ORAC method, which is commonly used in antioxidant evaluation, CUPRAC is a newly developed method utilizing UV-Vis spectroscopy instead of fluorescence spectroscopy. However, the effectiveness and mechanism of CUPRAC have not been fully understood. We were able to confirm the same effectiveness between CUPRAC and ORAC assays with our results; we then considered the use of CUPRAC for further analyses and potential lab experiments, based on its simplicity and high consistency.
In addition, the loss of total antioxidant capacity, as well as some specific antioxidant compounds such as lutein and β-carotene, during traditional kale chip preparation was also investigated using a combination of the CUPRAC assay and HPLC analyses. The preliminary results suggested a more effective way to prepare kale chips by using a lower temperature and longer cooking time, in order to reduce the loss of antioxidant compounds.
Anh Lu, ’14
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Majors: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Chemistry
Sponsor: Cynthia Strong