Antioxidants are used as food additives in order to prevent the
oxidative deterioration of fats and oils in processed foods. However,
due to limitation on the use of synthetic antioxidants and enhanced
public awareness of health issues, there is an increasing
need of health-promoting natural antioxidants in foods, such as
in bakery products (Nanditha & Prabhasankar, 2009). Free radicals
can usually be generated by several biological reactions in the body
and these are capable of damaging crucial bio-molecules; if they
are not scavenged effectively by cellular constituents, they lead
to disease conditions. The harmful action of free radicals can be
blocked by antioxidant substances, which scavenge the free radicals
and detoxify the organisms. Current researches have confirmed
that foods rich in antioxidants play an essential role in
the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, cancers and neurodegenerative
diseases, as well as inflammation and problems caused
by cell and cutaneous aging (Fan, Zhang, Yu, & Ma, 2006). Antioxidants
are important in the control of degenerative diseases in
which oxidative damage has been implicated. There are different
plant sources which contain important antioxidants capable of free