Abstract

Antioxidants have fulfilled many roles. In the health realm, they are used to prevent oxidative stress which is a causative factor in the pathophysiology of numerous diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. They are also said to promote the healthy life and longevity. There uses in the food industry are well known. Antioxidants can be synthetic and natural. There is a growing need to use plant-based antioxidants, since this would lead to further decarbonization and produce a greener environment and are much safer to use compare to synthetic antioxidants. Nevertheless, research in the design and synthesis of synthetic antioxidants are also on the rise to find more potent ones compared to standard models such as ascorbic acid. In addition, pharmaceutical companies need to promote their business via synthesis of new and potent pharmaceuticals with fewer side effects. Thus, synthetic antioxidants continue to rise. Amongst the ones reported to date include: Butylated Hydroxyl Anisole (BHA), Tert Butyl Hydroxyquinone (TBHQ), Propyl Gallate (PG), Chalcones, Indazole derivatives, Triazole derivatives, Pyrimidine derivatives, Schiff base derivatives, methoxyphenols derivatives, fulvic acid etc. Amongst the methods used to determine radical scavenging activity include the FRAP method, DPPH method, FIC (Ferrous Ion Chelation) method, phosphomolybdenum method etc.

Keywords:Antioxidant; Synthetic; Natural; Chalcones; Indazole derivatives; Triazole derivatives; Pyrimidine derivatives