Polyphenolic combinations quantification through ABTS^•+ radical cations accumulation kinetics measurement

Introduction. Polyphenols are widely distributed in plant world and recognized for their high antioxidant activity. Traditional methods of polyphenolic compounds quantification, such as Folin – Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride assays, measure total phenolic or flavonoid content but fail to identify individual compounds in complex mixtures. Combining the kinetic profiling of antioxidant activity manifestation for a combination of antioxidants has certain potential for the development of inexpensive and simple quantitate analysis approaches.

Aim. To develop an approach for the quantitative determination of individual polyphenols in binary combinations through the measurement of ABTS^•+ radical cations accumulation kinetics based on a lag-time experimental strategy.

Materials and methods. We have studied formulations of flavonoid dihydroquercetin (DHQ) and lignan secoisolariciresinol (SECO) and a combination of DHQ with essential antioxidant alpha-tocopherol (α-TOH). The antioxidants induced the inhibition of ABTS^•+ radical cations accumulation initiated by potassium persulfate, which resulted in a lag-time formation and was monitored spectrophotometrically at 730–750 nm.

Results and discussion. Both combinations demonstrated two lag-time periods pattern typical for additive type interactions between its components. Lag-time period duration depends on concentration of the component. We matched every lag-time period with specific polyphenol which allowed us to determine the content of every component of studied combinations. Developed technique measured the content of polyphenols with value of relative standard deviation (RSD) being not higher than 2 % and value of relative measurement error (δ) not exceeding 3,7 %.

Conclusion. Our study confirmed that an antioxidant capacity measurement approach could be successfully applied for content determination of individual polyphenols in complex mixtures. Developed methodology demonstrated high reproducibility and acceptable accuracy levels for binary combinations constituents’ quantification.

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