The presence of free radicals is common is foods and arises from processing, including heating and radiation as wel as oxidation during storage. Free radicals are reported to damage proteins and DNA (1); this results in the unavailability of essential amino acids and induces cross-linking of proteins thereby affecting the nutritional and functional properties such as texture. In addition, the new products generated may be toxic. Although most investigations have been undertaken in the clinical field, similar reactions occur in food systems; however, these have been studied to a limited extent hitherto.
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