ABSTRACT
Nowadays there is considerable evidence that the antioxidants contained in fruits, vegetables, and beverages play an important role in the mainte nance of health and in prevention of disease. These antioxidants are be lieved to play a very important role in the body defence system against the various reactive oxidant species that are generated during several physiological and pathological processes (Cantuti-Castelvetri et al. 2000). Moreover, when added to foods, antioxidants minimize rancidity, retard the formation of toxic oxidation products, maintain nutritional quality, and increase shelf-life (Jadhav et al. 1995). The present review aims to provide a glimpse at the importance of the antioxidants of plant origin and the methodologies used to evaluate their activity, an insight into some relevant antioxidant chemical families of plant origin, and finally into sources of antioxidants for the food industry.
