There are a lot of reports devoted to the phenolic
compounds occurring both in the edible and non-edible
parts of plants, which are at the same time characterized
by a high antioxidant activity. These compounds
are important components of plants, necessary for their
proper growth and development, and protect them
from pests and damage (Jeszka et al., 2010; Kobus et
al., 2009; Kucner et al., 2014). Polyphenols play an important
role in the prevention of many diet-dependent
diseases, among others heart diseases, atherosclerosis
or cancer (Sidor and Gramza-Michałowska, 2014).
Widely known natural antioxidants are α-tocopherol
and L-ascorbic acid, which exhibit a benefi cial effect
on the human organism and are reported to be safe.
More powerful antioxidants are the synthetic compounds
butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated
hydroxytoluene (BHT) however, they also exhibit possible
negative effects on the human organism by activating
promoters of carcinogenesis (Seong et al., 2004;