Antioxidant Compounds
Antioxidant compounds formed during food processing
Polyphenols are important contributors to antioxidant activity of many fruits and vegetables. They are also present in green coffee beans and cereals but, when heated, they are destroyed or react with other food components. We have found that brews prepared from roast coffee beans have similar or higher antioxidant activity to brews prepared from green beans. Also, the antioxidant activity of malts increases with the extent of applied heat treatment. Antioxidant activity of foods is of great interest because consumption of components with antioxidant activity might lead to increased antioxidant activity in the human body. This might inhibit some of the
biochemical processes that lead to disease.
The research questions we are addressing are:
- Do antioxidant components of coffee and malt give any health benefits?
- Do dietary antioxidants reduce adverse effects of AGEs?
