Antioxidants are the compounds which, when added to lipids and
lipid-containing foods, can increase their shelf-life by retarding the
process of lipid peroxidation, which is one of the major reasons for the
deterioration of food products during processing and storage.
Synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and
butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) have been restricted for use in foods,
as these are suspected to be highly carcinogenic . As a
result, the importance of exploiting natural antioxidants, especially of
plant origin, has deeply increased in recent years. Numerous isolated
plant constituents as well as crude extracts of fruits and vegetables
have been recognized as natural antioxidants that possess beneficial
effects against free radicals in biological systems . This beneficial effect of fruits and
vegetables can be attributed to various phenolic compounds present
in them, possessing antioxidant activity. These phenolic compounds
include phenolic acids, anthocyanins, flavonoids, and hydrocinnamic
acid derivatives . In recent years,
much attention has also been paid to potential anticancer components
from fruits and vegetables. Epidemiological studies have indicated the
relationship between polyphenol intake and reduced risk of certain
cancers. Someflavones and polyphenols have been demonstrated to
decrease various types of experimental carcinogenesis