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Antioxidants in Brazilian Plant Species

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Food Quality, Safety and Technology

Abstract

Brazil presents a huge variety and diversity of plant species and several studies showed the antioxidant potential of most of these Brazilian species. In general, antioxidants can be defined as a heterogeneous family of natural molecules, which are present in low concentrations, and can prevent or reduce the oxidative damage in organisms. Among the most studied antioxidants in plants, besides vitamins, polyphenols, such as flavonoids, carotenoids, and thiols, stand out. This chapter highlights the antioxidant properties of some Brazilian fruits, medicinal plants, herbs, and seasonings and proposes a review about the characteristics of Brazilian flora species, which were found to show antioxidant properties.

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Abbreviations

ABTS:

2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)

BHT:

Butylhydroxytoluene

DPPH:

1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl

IC50 :

The half maximal inhibitory concentration. The concentration of antioxidant needed to reduce the amount of radical by 50 %

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Insituto de Biociências, Campus de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São Paulo, Brazil

    Rene A. S. Campos, Luciana F. Fleuri, Valber A. Pedrosa & Giuseppina P. P. Lima

  2. Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, viale dell’Università 16, 35020, Legnaro, Padova, Italy

    Fabio Vianello

  3. Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Palacky University in Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic

    Fabio Vianello

  4. Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Paola Vanzani

Authors
  1. Rene A. S. Campos
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  2. Fabio Vianello
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  3. Luciana F. Fleuri
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  4. Valber A. Pedrosa
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  5. Paola Vanzani
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  6. Giuseppina P. P. Lima
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Correspondence to Giuseppina P. P. Lima .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Biosciences Institute, São Paulo State Univeristy (UNESP), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil

    Giuseppina P. P. Lima

  2. Department of Chemical Biology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Fabio Vianello

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Campos, R.A.S., Vianello, F., Fleuri, L.F., Pedrosa, V.A., Vanzani, P., Lima, G.P.P. (2013). Antioxidants in Brazilian Plant Species. In: Lima, G., Vianello, F. (eds) Food Quality, Safety and Technology. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1640-1_1

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