Assessing Age-Related Changes in Antioxidant Status : The FRASC Assay for Total Antioxidant Power and Ascorbic Acid...

There is accumulating evidence that oxidative damage to protein, lipid, carbohydrate and DNA is an important cause and/or effect of cellular and subcellular changes associated with disease, and is responsible for at least some of the physiological, but ultimately fatal, changes that accompany aging (1-8). Advancing age brings increasing risk of chronic degenerative disease including cancer, cardiovascular disease, cataracts, and dementia (1-6, 8).Immune status declines, with consequent increased risk of infection and, owing to a combination of physical and socioeconomic factors, nutritional status is often poor in the elderly, increasing the likelihood of poor antioxidant status (9).