Determinação de antioxidantes em alho (Allium sativum, L.) utilizando espectroscopia e quimiometria

Abstract

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a vegetable which is rich in antioxidants, defined as compounds which have the ability to inhibit or retard the action of radical species by donating electrons, thereby inhibiting reactions which can lead species to premature aging and diseases such as atherosclerosis and cancer. Determination of antioxidant activity of compounds can be made using different methodologies, being the most used one known as the DPPH radical inhibition method. Each author suggests different equations and different parameters for the interpretation of the data obtained through this methodology, implying in a lack of standardization, driving the results to be dubious besides missing confidence about this method functionality. Additionally, the reagent provides a significant cost and requires the use of a spectrophotometer. However, nowadays, by using a spectrophotometer it is possible to use combine spectroscopy with chemometric methods for isolating the mathematical signs of the compounds of interest, which, in principle, provide more realistic responses. This work proposes the use of MCR-ALS methodology on data from UV-Vis and NIR spectroscopy to monitor the antioxidant activity of garlic through inhibition of DPPH radical.