Ferric Reducing and Radical Scavenging Activities of Selected Important Polyphenols Present In Foods

In the present study, the antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities of five major polyphenolic compounds (resveratrol, quercetin, myricetin, catechin, gallic acid) were compared by performing FRAP and DPPH radical scavenging assays followed by their reaction kinetics. Results obtained for the conditions used in this study demonstrated that the quercetin showed the highest ferric reducing ability, while gallic acid was the strongest radical scavenger. Resveratrol exhibited the lowest antioxidant and radical scavenger among the polyphenols assayed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comparative report on these polyphenols.