Antioxidants, food processing and health

Poljšak, Borut (author), Kovač, Vito (author), Milisav, Irina (author)

The loss and/or modification of natural antioxidants during various food processing techniques and storage methods, like heat/thermal, UV, pulsed electric field treatment, drying, blanching and irradiation is well described. Antioxidants in their reduced form are modified mainly by oxidation, and less by pyrolysis and hydrolysis. Thus, they are chemically converted from the reduced to an oxidized form. Here we describe the neglected role of the oxidized forms of antioxidants produced during food processing and their effect on health. While natural antioxidants in their reduced forms have many well studied health-promoting characteristics, much less is known about the effects of their oxidized forms and other metabolites, which may have some health benefits as well. The oxidized forms of natural antioxidants affect cell signaling, the regulation of transcription factor activities and other determinants of gene expression. Very low doses may trigger hormesis, resulting in specific health benefits by the activation of damage repair processes and antioxidative defense systems. Functional studies determining the antioxidants’ effects on the organisms are important, especially as reduced or oxidized antioxidants and their metabolites may have additional or synergistic effects.

• Language: English
• Keywords: antioxidants, polyphenols, food processing, health, oxidation, hormesis, stress response
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: ZF - Faculty of Health Sciences; MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: 12 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 10, iss. 3, art. 433
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-125415
• UDC: 577:612.39
• ISSN on article: 2076-3921
• DOI: 10.3390/antiox10030433
• COBISS.SI-ID: 55190531
• Publication date in RUL: 15.03.2021

POLJŠAK, Borut, KOVAČ, Vito and MILISAV, Irina, 2021, Antioxidants, food processing and health. Antioxidants [online]. 2021. Vol. 10, no. 3,  433. [Accessed 16 July 2025]. DOI 10.3390/antiox10030433. Retrieved from: https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=125415

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Antioxidants
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2076-3921
• COBISS.SI-ID: 522976025

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: antioksidanti, polifenoli, predelava hrane, zdravje, oksidacija, hormeza, odziv na stres

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P3-0388
• Name: Mehanizmi varovanja zdravja

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P3-0019
• Name: Aplikativna in bazična fiziologija in patofiziologija v medicini