Free Radicals in Food

Book excerpt: Free Radicals in Food: Chemistry, Nutrition, and Health presents recent developments in free radical chemistry as it pertains to food systems, antioxidants, and nutritional biochemistry and health. This book intends to illustrate the potential chemical links between food and health. The book is organized into three main sections: Food Chemistry, Antioxidants, and Nutritional Biochemistry and Health. Chapters in the Food Chemistry section cover free radical participation in Maillard reactions, emulsions and lysozymes, milk, meat, and extruded grains. This section also addresses detection of radicals by ESR and spin trapping techniques. Chapters in the Antioxidant section cover phenolic and polyphenols from seeds and tea, tannins, and isoflavonoids. Chapters in the Nutritional Biochemistry and Health section cover the influence of food antioxidants and radical damaged ingredients on oxidases, colon carinogenesis, atherosclerosis, and liver epithelial RL34 cells. The ability of specific food components and supplements to intervene in free radical reactions is believed to play a significant role in their ability to promote health and ameliorate disease. Free Radicals in Food presents specific chemical evidence to support these hypotheses.