Dont forget to eat some fruits or vegetables in these days!

In these days of Christmas vacations, we were intensively submitted to a deep gastronomic show due to the rich meals with family, relatives and friends. All of us know how important is to have a right diet expecially to prevent different types of diseases like as coronary heart or neurodegenerative diseases. For these reasons but not only for these ones, of course, we need to program a correct diet that doesnt forget about fruits or vegetables, that are really rich in substances, known as antioxidants. What are antioxidants? Antioxidants are molecules capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Antioxidants are often reducing agents such as thiols, ascorbic acid or polyphenols. Measurements of the antioxidant activity or the oxigen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) are not easy to process. There are different tests like as for example the DPPH test. The DPPH test, which utilises a redox reaction with the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical, can be used to determine the antioxidant activity of plant or fruits extracts. The radical has a violet colour due to the unpaired nitrogen electron and after reaction with a radical scavenger the reduced DPPH-H (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazin) is formed which is yellow. The colour change can be followed spectrophotometrically at 515 nm and in this way the antioxidant activity of a substance or a plant extract can be determined. Anyway, despite the amount of antioxidants levels in fruits or vegetables, their consumption have to be done in a proper way for a good and healthy life.