title: Determination of the antioxidative capacity of an antioxidant complex and idebenone: an in vitro rapid and sensitive method.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal of this study was to determine the ability of two putative antioxidant solutions to suppress the formation of superoxide anion radicals created by optical excitation of a photosensitizer and measured by highly sensitive luminometric detection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Solutions containing 3% antioxidant complex and 1% idebenone were tested. The antioxidant complex is an aqueous combination of botanical extracts rich in ferulic acid, caffeic acid, and other polyphenols. Idebenone is a lower molecular weight analog of coenzyme Q(10) (a potent antioxidant). Each was dissolved in lipid soluble reagents (solutions) and run through a Photochem (photochemiluminometer system) device. Their antioxidant capacity was expressed as nmol equivalents of synthetic vitamin E. Nine aliquots of each compound were measured. The mean antioxidant capacities for the 3% antioxidant complex and 1% idebenone were 525 +/- 23 and 213 +/- 14 nmol, respectively, with a statistically significant difference between the two compounds (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 3% antioxidant solution possesses a significant antioxidative capacity, which was 2.5 times greater than the known antioxidant idebenone in a 1% solution as shown by the quenching of superoxide anion radicals measured by photochemiluminescence. This method provides rapid, accurate, and sensitive measurement of the antioxidant properties of lipid-soluble compounds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0989, USA. zhaih@derm.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Hongbo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cordoba-Diaz
authors.forename: Chrystal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wa
authors.forename: Xiaoying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.forename: Howard I
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Maibach
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry*; D002109:Caffeic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D003373:Coumaric Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000737:chemistry; D049449:Luminescence; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D010636:Phenols / Q000737:chemistry; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry*; D059808:Polyphenols; D012995:Solubility; D013481:Superoxides / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D014451:Ubiquinone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D002109:Caffeic Acids; D003373:Coumaric Acids; D005419:Flavonoids; D010636:Phenols; D010936:Plant Extracts; D059808:Polyphenols; D013481:Superoxides; D014451:Ubiquinone; D014810:Vitamin E; C004999:ferulic acid; C036619:idebenone; C040048:caffeic acid