RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES AND THE PHENOLIC AND FLAVONOID CONTENT IN TRADITIONAL BALSAMIC VINEGAR

The antioxidant properties of traditional balsamic vinegar as regards its phenolic and flavonoidcontent comparing it to selected vinegars and red wines have been investigated. Thepolyphenols were separated from interfering compounds utilizing C18 columns. Thepolyphenolic content was determined utilizing both Folin-Ciocalteu and peroxidase assays. Theantioxidant capacity was quantified using both ABTS and FRAP assays. The results show thattraditional balsamic vinegar has lower antioxidant activity and phenolic and flavonoid contentthan Nero d’Avola but higher than the other tested products. The antioxidant capacity of winesand vinegars is highly correlated with their phenolic content, measured by peroxidase assay andit is also highly correlated with their flavonoid content while in traditional balsamic vinegar andbalsamic vinegar this correlation diminishes suggesting that other antioxidant compounds arepresent. The study describes a simple and fast method of separating from other compounds andof measuring polyphenols in the analysis of red wines and vinegars with complex compositionsuch as traditional balsamic vinegar.