New Assay Tested for Antioxidant-based Products

March 10, 2016 • A team of researchers from the University of North Carolina’s Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute (UNC NRI) created and tested what it believes is a more reliable method to measure antioxidant capacity.
Currently, many assays involved hydrogen atom transfer reactions (like in oxygen radical absorbance capacity [ORAC] and total radical trapping antioxidant parameter [TRAP]) or electron transfer. The UNC assay measures the activation of antioxidant response elements (AREs). AREs are said to turn on genes in the body that make enzymes for protecting cells against free radical damage.