Phenol-Based Antioxidants and the In Vitro Methods Used for Their Assessment

In recent years, much interest has been observed in the field of phenol-based antioxidants. As a result of this, many analytical methods have been developed for the purpose of the quantification of phenolic and polyphenolic antioxidant capacities in biological materials. Many of these methods have been altered for application toward the in vitro assessment of antioxidant activities in animal and human model systems as well as in vivo. Due to the varied applicability and usage, methods for the assessment of phenol antioxidant capacities have become so widespread that they are often misused. It is the intent of this work to review the chemistry behind the antioxidant activity of phenolics as well as summarize the many methods applicable for the measurement of in vitro phenolic antioxidant capacity.