Overview

In a century, the enormous progress made by medicine, as well as improvements in the lifestyle and material comfort, have significantly increased our life expectancy. At the end of the 21st century, experts estimate that 10% of people born in 2000 have a great chance of becoming centenarians.

While everybody can only rejoice in these findings, it is still necessary to ensure that this last phase of the life that is aging will happen in the best possible conditions. In other words, man will have to face an enormous challenge which will consist in living more and more old while delaying for as long as possible the appearance of various inconveniences or illnesses inexorably associated with the natural phenomenon of aging. It is easy to guess what might be the disastrous economic consequences for our societies if we were to miss this challenge. In this context, it appears that an element will play a primordial role: a diet rich in protective antioxidants.

Oxygen: a good and an evil, a question of balance

Our cells grown optimally only under specific conditions of temperature, pH, oxygen concentration and other substrates. Oxygen is essential to produce the necessary energy that the cell needs to carry out its various functions. The price paid for this energy is however important since this same oxygen at the same time leads to the formation of toxic derivatives of oxygen which include the famous "free radicals".

When free radicals attack, antioxidants are in defense

At physiological concentration, free radicals have an important physiological role. Excessive product amounts, however, are very reactive and attack lipids, DNA and proteins.

To protect itself, the body has developed antioxidant defenses:

• Enzymes, proteins;
• Trace elements (selenium, zinc);
• Small molecules such as vitamins A, C, E, flavonoids or glutathione.

Everything is a matter of balance

The phenomenon of aging is inevitably linked to an increase in oxidative stress, with a progressive loss of the body to maintain the balance between the formation of free radicals and the rate of antioxidants. When this equilibrium is broken, "oxidative" modifications at the substrates mentioned above occur. These reactions are involved in the loss of natural physiological functions (hearing, sight, memory) but also in the development of severe pathologies such as cancers, diabetes or cardiovascular diseases.

In conclusion, scientific experts are increasingly unanimous in saying that a regular intake of antioxidants via diet or supplementation (under medical control) is one of the first actions we must take in the prevention for our health. Aging therefore, but with the best well-being and physical comfort possible thanks to the diet.

Yes but what food?

All current studies indicate that the very regular absorption of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables has undeniably positive effects on health, notably by significantly decreasing the incidence of all types of cancers.
It is also necessary to ensure that the amount of antioxidants present in these foods is the expected one.

This reflection must involve both the producer, the distributor and the consumer of fruit and vegetables. Between the time of harvest and the setting on the plate, many steps can indeed significantly alter the antioxidant content of these foods: place and temperature of conservation, cooking, exposure to light, …

At the same time, we are witnessing more and more the appearance on the market of various products (waters, yogurt…) enriched in antioxidants very often extracted from fruits (blackcurrant, cranberry, bilberry…). However, the antioxidant content is never known on this type of product.

There are also food supplements. What is their actual antioxidant capacity?

In the light of all these data it is therefore increasingly necessary to have tools to assess the overall antioxidant capacity of foods that are naturally rich or enriched with antioxidants in order to guarantee the quality of the product. This is all the more necessary because these analyzes will allow manufacturers developing this type of food supplements to comply with the European regulations on nutrition and health claims.

To do this, in collaboration with researchers specialized in antioxidants (Antioxidant & Health Nutrition Platform of CHU of  Liège, NAS), CEDEVIT provides the food industry with a variety of high-quality antioxidant status analyzes.