Estimating antioxidant activities of wines using biophysical methods

In the last decade from the negative effects on the living organisms, caused by environmental factors with many pathological changes, the special interest has been paid to the so-called oxidative stress, which is caused by the formation and multiplication of free radicals in cells. Among the negative effects, caused by activities of free radicals, are mainly damage to the lipid membrane, protein molecules and blood vessels, disruption of genetic structures, cardiovascular diseases, etc. The human organism, while functioning normally, has a fairly powerful antioxidant system against the harmful effects of free radicals. Such antioxidant systems include flavonoids, which are produced in high concentrations by plants. especially- grapes. The positive effect of wine on the human body depends on the content and composition of phenolic compounds, which determine the antioxidant properties of wine and it is the purpose of my task to estimate these properties. The following research discusses two main biophysical methods: 1. Luminol-chemiluminescence method for estimating anti-radical and potential medico-prophylactic properties of wines. 2. Electron paramagnetic resonance- a method for studying materials with unpaired electrons, which determines the antioxidant activity of wine through certain spin-traps, whose corresponding adduct (from the Latin adductus, “drawn toward" alternatively, a contraction of "addition product") with free radical gives appropriate EPR spectrum.