P-5
A comparison of beer polyphenols for their antioxidant abilities as measured using a range of assays
Presenter: Cale May, University of California, Davis, CA
Co-Author: C.W. Bamforth, University of California, Davis, CA

The polyphenol fraction is arguably the most relevant from the perspective of antioxidant potential. Antioxidants are relevant both from the perspective of protecting beer against staling and for their possible beneficial impact on the body. Certainly, in the latter context, too many studies have espoused the benefit of certain polyphenols when compared on the basis of a single in vitro assay. However molecules of this type can respond very differently when assessed using different types of assay. In this study, we have compared polyphenolics in beer and isolated from beer using several assays, including superoxide scavenging, hydroxyl scavenging, ability to protect against the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids and the ABTS assay that has been most widely used (and abused?) in the assessment of antioxidants.

Cale May, an MS candidate at UC Davis, majored in food science and nutrition at University of Missouri-Columbia, graduating in 2002. He was born in Trenton, MO, in 1979. He has worked as an assistant brewer at Flatbranch Pub and Brewing, Columbia, MO, and had internship experience with Anheuser-Busch at their Merrimack facility in 2004.