ABSTRACT
Antioxidants can be dened as substances that when present in low concentration with respect to a susceptible substrate, in the food or in the human body, signicantly delay or inhibit the substrate oxidation. In the case of foods, it is one of the major causes of chemical spoilage, resulting in rancidity and/or deterioration of the nutritional quality, color, avor, texture, and safety of foods. It is estimated that half of the world’s fruit and vegetable crops are lost due to postharvest deteriorative reactions (Antolovich et al. 2002).
