The total reactive antioxidant potential (TRAP) and total antioxidant reactivity (TAR) of Ilex paraguayensis extracts and red wine

The charge of antioxidants in Ilex paraguayensis extracts and in red wines were determined employing procedures based on the quenching of luminol chemiluminescence induced by free radicals and the bleaching of preformed radical cations derived from ABTS. Both methodologies give similar results, allowing the evaluation of the total reactive antioxidant potential (TRAP) and the total antioxidant reactivity (TAR) indexes. The results obtained employing both tea bags and dry tea leaves from different trademarks indicate that Ilex paraguayensis infusions present large TRAP values (in Trolox equivalents) of 6.6 +/- 1.3 mM (ABTS method) and 3.4 +/- 1.1 mM (luminol method). The TAR of the samples was 4.7 +/- 1.5 mM. These results, as well as those obtained for red wine, indicate that both beverages present high antioxidant concentrations, a fraction of which is constituted by compounds of high reactivity towards free radicals.