Journal of the Science of Food and AgricultureVolume 80, Issue 13 p. 1925-1941 Review The problems of using one-dimensional methods to evaluate multifunctional food and biological antioxidants Edwin N Frankel, Corresponding Author Edwin N Frankel Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USADepartment of Food Science and Technology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USASearch for more papers by this authorAnne S Meyer, Anne S Meyer Food Biotechnology and Engineering Group, Department of Biotechnology, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, DenmarkSearch for more papers by this author Edwin N Frankel, Corresponding Author Edwin N Frankel Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USADepartment of Food Science and Technology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USASearch for more papers by this authorAnne S Meyer, Anne S Meyer Food Biotechnology and Engineering Group, Department of Biotechnology, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, DenmarkSearch for more papers by this author First published: 21 August 2000 https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0010(200010)80:13<1925::AID-JSFA714>3.0.CO;2-4Citations: 712Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Abstract The activity of antioxidants in foods and biological systems is dependent on a multitude of factors, including the colloidal properties of the substrates, the conditions and stages of oxidation and the localisation of antioxidants in different phases. When testing natural antioxidants in vitro, it is therefore important to consider the system composition, the type of oxidisable substrate, the mode of accelerating oxidation, the methods to assess oxidation and how to quantify antioxidant activity. Antioxidant effectiveness is also determined by the heterogeneity and heterophasic nature of the system, the type of lipid substrate, including its physicochemical state and degree of unsaturation, the types of initiators, notably transition metals, other components and their possible interaction. For this reason there cannot be a short-cut approach to determining antioxidant activity. Each evaluation should be carried out under various conditions of oxidation, using several methods to measure different products of oxidation. Because most natural antioxidants and phytochemicals are multifunctional, a reliable antioxidant protocol requires the measurement of more than one property relevant to either foods or biological systems. Several recent studies on natural phytochemical compounds produced conflicting results because non-specific one-dimensional methods were used to evaluate antioxidant activity. There is a great need to standardise antioxidant testing to minimise the present chaos in the methodologies used to evaluate antioxidants. Several methods that are more specific should be used to obtain chemical information that can be related directly to oxidative deterioration of food and biological systems. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry Citing Literature Volume80, Issue13October 2000Pages 1925-1941 RelatedInformation