Abstract

Dietary antioxidants may play a role in the prevention of oxidative damage related to the risk for severaldiseases. There are various approaches to substantiate claims on food products containing antioxidants. Claims concerningbioavailability are often linked to specific processing or fortification, providing higher amounts of the antioxidant circulatingin the organism. Antioxidant efficacy implies a decreased oxidative damage to lipids, proteins or DNA. Biomarkers of antioxidant function usually measure damage to these biomolecules. The validity of markers and the marker conceptrelated to the association with a biochemical, pathophysiological or clinical outcome or risk for a disease is debated.