Chain-Breaking Antioxidant Capability of Some Beverages as Determined by the Clark Electrode Technique

The protective effects of red wine, tea, and coffee on cancer, atheroclerosis, and other diseases are attributed to the antioxidant activity (AOA) of polyphenols, which are abundant in those beverages. We present a rational procedure for determining the total chain-breaking AOA of beverages with the use of the Clark electrode technique. The procedure is based on the steady monitoring of oxygen consumption accompanying the chain peroxidation of methyl linoleate in Triton X-100 aqueous micelles induced by 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropan) dihydrochloride as a source of active free radicals. AOA was characterized by the number of kinetic chains (expressed in concentration units) that could be terminated by a beverage. The procedure was applied to determine the AOA of nine red wines and single samples of green and black teas, white wine, beer, and soluble coffee. The addition of any of the studied beverages to the testing system resulted in pronounced retardation of methyl linoleate oxidation. The period of increase in the oxidation rate with time caused by antioxidant consumption was preceded by a period when the oxidation rate was visibly decreased with time (increase in inhibition). The release of polyphenols from their complexes with other components of beverages was suggested as the most probable mechanism of this event, which was observed for the first time in this study.