AbstractMany well-established methods for determining the antioxidant capacities in several samples have been described in literature. However, DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)) are the main two methods that utilize radicals as spectrophotometric probes for analysis. Nevertheless, these methods have certain limitations because of their slower kinetics, solvent polarity effects, the hydrophilicity and lipophilicity of the compounds, chemical costs, etc. In this study, a spectrophotometric method for determining the antioxidant capacity in beverages was developed based on an exploration of the cation radical derived from DEPD. This method was based on the oxidation of aromatic amines with Fe(III) ions at pH 4.0, which leads to their corresponding purple cation radicals (DEPD•+) with λmax values at 500 and 540 nm. The addition of an antioxidant after the formation of the radical leads to a reduction in color intensity that is proportional to the antioxidant concentration in the medium. Results obtained using this method were compared with the Folin-Ciocalteau, ABTS and DPPH methods in terms of applications in wines, teas, and infusions samples. Linear correlation analysis at a 95% confidence level was employed to compare the results, which were in good agreement with a correlation coefficient of r > 0.9000. Thus, the developed method was simple, accurate, and consistent with other assays for the determination of the total amount of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity.

This work involved an evaluation of calcium hydroxide powder in the absence and presence of CO2. 0.12g of calcium hydroxide powder was used for each of 16 aliquots diluted in 100 mL of deionized water and distributed in 2 samples of 8 aliquots. The indices of pOH, [OH-] and [Ca++] were obtained by mathematical calculations after determining the pH. The results demonstrated that in the presence of CO2, calcium hydroxide showed a marked loss of [OH-] and [Ca++] in relation to the decrease in pH. However, the high alkaline pH of the calcium hydroxide powder was preserved in the absence of CO2, maintaining its reparative and antimicrobial properties.