Orac Explained

ORAC Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity

FAQ # 3

ORAC is a method of measuring antioxidant capacities in biological sample

A wide variety of foods has been tested using this methodology, like berries and legumes

Why? Because of a correlation between the high antioxidant capacity of fruits and vegetables is believed to play a role in the free-radical theory of aging

Plants, as exposed to oxygen and light, have developed efficient defense systems to protect against oxidation and free radicals, their DNA.

For this reason plants contain large amounts of antioxidants, like vitamins and polyphenols. It’s important taking through diet, adequate amounts of these substances, that should complement the endogenous antioxidant systems.

The ORAC test is correlated with the efficacy in vivo of compounds, because it

measures the substance potential to protect a fluorescent molecule (fluorescein) from the oxidative degradation carried out by

free radicals. The less the molecule has lost its

fluorescence, the greater the antioxidant has demonstrated its effectiveness

The ORAC value expresses a concentration in µmol equivalents of vitamin E / gr

Revision III - February 2012