This volume discusses the effects of naturally occurring and process-generated prooxidants and antioxidants on various aspects of food quality. It emphasizes the chemical nature and functional properties of these compounds and their interactions with other food components in storage and processing, specifically focusing on the sensory quality, nutritional value, health-promoting activity, and safety aspects of foods. It examines the analysis of prooxidants and antioxidants in foods, covers measurement and mechanisms of antioxidant activity, presents case studies on selected natural food antioxidants, and discusses functional antioxidant foods.

Food antioxidants are of primary importance for the preservation of food quality during processing and storage. However, the status of food depends on a balance of antioxidants and prooxidants occurring in food. Food Oxidants and Antioxidants: Chemical, Biological, and Functional Properties provides a single-volume reference on the effects of naturally occurring and process-generated prooxidants and antioxidants on various aspects of food quality.

The book begins with a general introduction to oxidation in food and then characterizes the main oxidants present in food, including enzymatic oxidants. Chapters cover oxidation potential, mechanisms of oxidation of the main food components (proteins and lipids), addition of exogenous oxidants during food processing, and the effects of physical agents such as irradiation, freeze-thawing, and high hydrostatic pressure during processing. The book also discusses the effects of oxidation on sensory characteristics of food components and analyzes how oxidation and antioxidants affect the nutritive and health-promoting features of food components.

The text examines natural antioxidants in food, including lesser-known ones such as amino acids and polysaccharides, antioxidants generated in food as a result of processing, mechanisms of antioxidant activity, and measurement of antioxidant activity of food components. It explores the bioavailability of curcuminoid and carotenoids antioxidants and presents case studies on natural food antioxidants, presenting novel extraction methods for preservation of antioxidant activity. The final chapters address functional antioxidant foods and beverages as well as general ideas on the effects of food on the redox homeostasis of the organism.