Abstract
Polyphenol compounds present in high quantity in wines are well-known to have potent cardio-protective properties through several biological mechanisms including antioxidant activity [1]. A large number of methods have been developed for evaluating the antioxidant capacity of food matrices. Most of them have, however, the disadvantage of being time consuming and require specific analytical protocols and devices. In the present study, we present the electrochemical PAOT (Pouvoir Antioxydant Total)-Liquid(®) Technology which can be easily used by winemakers for evaluating antioxidant activity of wine during all steps of making process. The methodology is based on the measurement of electric potential variation resulting from chemical reactions between wine polyphenols and a free radical mediator M(•) as source of oxidants. Total antioxidant activity as estimated by the PAOT-Liquid(®) activity was 6.8 fold higher in red wines (n = 14) when compared to rosé (n = 3) and white (n = 3) wines bought in a commercial market. Moreover, PAOT-Liquid(®) activity was highly correlated with total polyphenols content (TPC) of all wines (r = 0.9540, p < 0.0001) and the classical DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl) assay which is often used for evaluating antioxidant capacity of food matrices (r = 0.9102, p < 0.0001).