ABSTRACT
The activity of antioxidants in emulsions is very different from that measured in bulk fats and oils. Oxidative rancidity, resulting from the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids, is the most important type of food rancidity that is inhibited by antioxidants. The most important group of compounds active as antioxidants in fruits and vegetables consists of various flavones and related compounds. The efficiency of added antioxidants in foods depends very much on the food composition, microstructure, and moisture content. The best method for the determination of the shelf-life stability of lipids and the antioxidant activity would be storage of the food under the specific conditions, but this procedure would be too long and very expensive. The quantitative analysis of antioxidant extracts is necessary for their standardization and the handling of biological variabilities between cultivars, location, and other environmental variables.
