Food Oxidants and Antioxidants
Chemical, Biological, and Functional Properties
Chemical & Functional Properties of Food Components Series

Food antioxidants are of primary importance for the preservation of food quality during processing and storage. However, the status of food depends on a balance of antioxidants and prooxidants occurring in food. Food Oxidants and Antioxidants: Chemical, Biological, and Functional Properties provides a single-volume reference on the effects of naturally occurring and process-generated prooxidants and antioxidants on various aspects of food quality.

The book begins with a general introduction to oxidation in food and then characterizes the main oxidants present in food, including enzymatic oxidants. Chapters cover oxidation potential, mechanisms of oxidation of the main food components (proteins and lipids), addition of exogenous oxidants during food processing, and the effects of physical agents such as irradiation, freeze-thawing, and high hydrostatic pressure during processing. The book also discusses the effects of oxidation on sensory characteristics of food components and analyzes how oxidation and antioxidants affect the nutritive and health-promoting features of food components.

The text examines natural antioxidants in food, including lesser-known ones such as amino acids and polysaccharides, antioxidants generated in food as a result of processing, mechanisms of antioxidant activity, and measurement of antioxidant activity of food components. It explores the bioavailability of curcuminoid and carotenoids antioxidants and presents case studies on natural food antioxidants, presenting novel extraction methods for preservation of antioxidant activity. The final chapters address functional antioxidant foods and beverages as well as general ideas on the effects of food on the redox homeostasis of the organism.

Oxidation of Food Components: An Introduction. Oxidants Occurring in Food Systems. Measuring the Oxidation Potential in Foods. Mechanisms of Oxidation in Food Lipids. Protein Oxidation in Foods and Its Prevention. Use of Added Oxidants in Food Processing. Effects of Oxidation on Sensory Characteristics of Food Components during Processing and Storage. Effects of Oxidation on the Nutritive and Health-Promoting Value of Food Components. Natural Antioxidants in Food Systems. Antioxidants Generated in Foods as a Result of Processing. Mechanisms of Antioxidant Activity. Measuring the Antioxidant Activity of Food Components. Measuring the Antioxidant Activity of Apple Products. Antioxidant and Prooxidant Activity of Food Components. Bioavailability and Antioxidant Activity of Curcuminoids and Carotenoids in Humans. Case Studies on Selected Natural Food Antioxidants. Functional Antioxidant Foods. Concluding Remarks. Index.

Grzegorz Bartosz received his MS and PhD degrees from the University of Łodź and his DSc degree from the Jagiellonian University of Cracow (Poland). Presently, he is a professor at the Department of Molecular Biophysics of the Faculty of Biology and Protection of the Environment at the University of Łodź and at the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology of the Faculty of Biology and Agriculture of the University of Rzeszow (Poland). His research interest concentrates on reactive oxygen species and antioxidants. He is an author of more than 300 journal publications, two books, and eight book chapters.