Antioxidant Reductive Capacity (Antioxidant Status) Assay

The NWLSS™ Antioxidant Capacity kit measuring a sample's ability to reduce Cu++ to Cu+ as a means of assessing antioxidant status. The kit is useful as a simple method to quantify generic antioxidant capacity in many types of aqueous samples including serum, plasma, cell culture media and food extracts.

Not suitable for use with samples containing EDTA or other metal chelators.

Summary

Oxidative stress is defined as a condition that exists when there is a lack of balance between pro-oxidants and antioxidants. Oxidative stress appears to be involved in the pathogenesis of several diseases including artherosclerosis, chronic inflammatory disease and cancer. Since oxidative stress can be harmful to organisms, intra-cellular, extra-cellular, enzymatic and non-enzymatic systems exist to mediate the condition. Lipid soluble antioxidants (most importantly vitamin E) and water-soluble antioxidants (uric acid, vitamin C, bilirubin, thiols and gluthathione) are a few of the antioxidants involved in these processes. Given the large number of antioxidant pathways, and their importance in regulation of an organism's redox status, it is important to be able to quantitatively estimate the capacity of antioxidants to reduce or antioxidant power within biological specimens.

The NWLSS™ Antioxidant Reductive Capacity Assay is based on the combined action of sample antioxidants to reduce Cu++ to Cu+. Cu+ reacts with bathocuproine (BC) to form a color complex with maximal absorbance at 480-490 nm. Measurement at 490 nm before and after addition of BC generates a net absorbance in direct relation to a sample's reductive capacity. Absorbance values obtained for samples are compared with a standard curve generated using uric acid. Alternatively, researchers may select a different standard of their choosing for use in the assay.