List of antioxidants in food

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Vitamins

Vitamin cofactors and minerals

Hormones

Carotenoid terpenoids

See main article at Carotenoid
  • Lycopene - found in high concentration in ripe red tomatoes.
  • Lutein - found in high concentration in spinach and red peppers.
  • Alpha-carotene
  • Beta-carotene - found in high concentrations in butternut squash, carrots, orange bell peppers, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes.
  • Zeaxanthin - the main pigment found in yellow corn.
  • Astaxanthin - found naturally in red algae and animals higher in the marine food chain. It is a red pigment familiarly recognized in crustacean shells and salmon flesh/roe.
  • Canthaxanthin

Flavonoid polyphenolics

Flavonoids, a subset of polyphenol antioxidants, are present in many berries, as well as in coffee and tea.

Phenolic acids and their esters

See main article: Polyphenol antioxidant
  • Ellagic acid - found in high concentration in raspberry and strawberry, and in ester form in red wine tannins.
  • Gallic acid - found in gallnuts, sumac, witch hazel, tea leaves, oak bark, and many other plants.
  • Salicylic acid - found in most vegetables, fruits, and herbs; but most abundantly in the bark of willow trees, from where it was extracted for use in the early manufacture of aspirin.
  • Rosmarinic acid - found in high concentration in rosemary, oregano, lemon balm, sage, and marjoram.
  • Cinnamic acid and its derivatives, such as ferulic acid - found in seeds of plants such as in brown rice, forskin, whole wheat and oats, as well as in coffee, apple, artichoke, peanut, orange and pineapple.
  • Chlorogenic acid - found in high concentration in coffee (more concentrated in robusta than arabica beans), blueberries and tomatoes. Produced from esterification of caffeic acid.
  • Chicoric acid - another caffeic acid derivative, is found only in the popular medicinal herb Echinacea purpurea.
  • Gallotannins - hydrolyzable tannin polymer formed when gallic acid, a polyphenol monomer, esterifies and binds with the hydroxyl group of a polyol carbohydrate such as glucose.
  • Ellagitannins - hydrolyzable tannin polymer formed when ellagic acid, a polyphenol monomer, esterifies and binds with the hydroxyl group of a polyol carbohydrate such as glucose.
  • Emblicanin-antioxidant - tannin from Emblica Officinalis

Other nonflavonoid phenolics

Other organic antioxidants

Foods highest in antioxidants[2]
Rank Food Serving size Antioxidant capacity per serving size[3]
1 Small Red Bean ½ cup dried beans 13727
2 Wild blueberry 1 cup 13427
3 Red kidney bean ½ cup dried beans 13259
4 Pinto bean ½ cup 11864
5 Blueberry 1 cup (cultivated berries) 9019
6 Cranberry 1 cup (whole berries) 8983
7 Artichoke hearts 1 cup, cooked 7904
8 Blackberry 1 cup (cultivated berries) 7701
9 Prune ½ cup 7291
10 Raspberry 1 cup 6058
11 Strawberry 1 cup 5938
12 Red Delicious apple 1 apple 5900
13 Granny Smith apple 1 apple 5381
14 Pecan oz 5095
15 Sweet cherry 1 cup 4873
16 Black plum 1 plum 4844
17 Russet potato 1, cooked 4649
18 Black bean ½ cup dried beans 4181
19 Plum 1 plum 4118
20 Gala apple 1 apple 3903

References

  1. Stocker R, Yamamoto Y, McDonagh AF, Glazer AN, Ames BN (1987). "Bilirubin is an antioxidant of possible physiological importance". Science. 235 (4792): 1043–6. doi:10.1126/science.3029864. PMID 3029864.
  2. Data from Wu X, Beecher GR, Holden JM, Haytowitz DB, Gebhardt SE, Prior RL (2004). "Lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidant capacities of common foods in the United States". J. Agric. Food Chem. 52 (12): 4026–37. doi:10.1021/jf049696w. PMID 15186133.
  3. Units are Total Antioxidant Capacity per serving in units of micromoles of Trolox equivalents.