Quercetin and its ester derivatives inhibit oxidation of food, LDL and DNA.

ABSTRACT

Quercetin was esterified with fatty acids (FA) in order to expand its application in a wide range of food and biological systems. The antioxidant potential of the esters were examined using hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, antioxidation in oil-in-water emulsion and bulk oil, inhibition of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) scission. Except for oil-in-water emulsion system, quercetin derivatives demonstrated similar and/or better antioxidant activity than quercetin itself in bulk oil (quercetin with C181 and C226), hydroxyl radical scavenging assay (quercetin with C30-C80), DNA scission (quercetin with C30-C80), and LDL oxidation (quercetin with C140-C226, except C180). These results suggest that esterification did not compromise the antioxidant activity of the parent compound and quercetin derivatives might be useful as possible antioxidants in food and biological systems.