In vitro antioxidant activity of black tea and Mediterranean herb infusions toward iron under simulated gastrointestinal conditions

Dietary components, such as polyphenols, may be capable of scavenging react ive oxygen species implicated in biological damage. In order to understand their significance in disease prevention, the behavior of systems harboring antioxidants and prooxidants was investigated. Various Mediterranean herbs and black-tea infusions were investigated in vitro, in the presence of iro n, under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. All infusions exhibited var iable antioxidant activity relative to the controls in the absence or prese nce of digestive enzymes and bile salts. Correlations of antioxidant activi ty with iron and polyphenols in dialysates were performed. The results of t he fn vitro assay demonstrate that it can offer more details on potential a ntioxidants relative to other model systems.