THE ROLE OF ANTIOXIDANTS IN THE PREVENTION OF T-BUTYL HYDROPEROXIDE-INDUCED CHEMILUMINESCENCE

An experimental system which assesses the antioxidant potential of asc orbic acid, glutathione, uric acid, and taurine was developed. The sys tem comprised hemoglobin, luminol, t-butyl hydroperoxide, and differ e nt concentrations of antioxidants in TRIS-HCl buffer (pH 7.4). Control assays were per-formed by excluding antioxidants. Chemiluminescence w as detected using a liquid scintillation counter in single photon mode , All antioxidants, when applied in the appropriate concentrations, de creased the maximum chemiluminescence values. The minimum concentratio ns which decreased the chemiluminescence values were defined for each of the antioxidants.