Flow injection based methods for fast screening of antioxidant capacity

The role and importance of antioxidants in different fields, ranging from physiology to food technology, have become evident in the past years, requiring adequate analytical methodologies. Therefore, the determination of antioxidant capacity as a routine or screening analysis fosters its automation. In this context, several flow injection methods based on scavenging of 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonate) radical cation (ABTS+) or 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DDPH) or based on the determination of total reducing capacity have been proposed. The objective of the present review is to critically compare the different approaches, regarding their degree of automation, their performance vs. the respective batch procedure and its applicability to real samples.