A new approach for the sequential injection spectrophotometric determination of the total antioxidant activity.

A sequential injection system based on the ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic-acid) methodology was developed. The proposed method, incorporating a mixing chamber in the side port of the selection valve, was evaluated to measure the total antioxidant activity of several beverages and foods. The ABTS(+) is generated by oxidation of ABTS with potassium persulfate and is reduced in presence of hydrogen-donating antioxidants converting into a colourless product. The applicability of the developed method was tested by measurement of the antioxidant activity of pure compounds as well as by analysing complex food and beverage samples. The antioxidant activity was presented as l(+) ascorbic acid equivalence. The values obtained by this methodology were not significantly different from the results obtained by the original spectrophotometric ABTS assay. For most of the studied antioxidants, antioxidant activity varied with pH and dilution. The proposed SIA system is suitable for screening direct or diluted total antioxidant activity of pure compounds or food samples.