Brunswick Laboratories, Inc., Southborough, MA, has unveiled that AOAC International, a global leader in the development and standardization of validated analytical methods, has approved the ORAC method, jointly developed by Brunswick Laboratories and the USDA, as a First Action Official Method (SM) for measuring antioxidants in foods. This decision comes after extensive review by an AOAC expert review panel (ERP) chaired by James Harnly of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
 
Jin Ji, PhD., chief technology officer and executive vice president of Brunswick Labs, applauded the move. “The decision by AOAC serves as a strong validation of the ongoing value of ORAC as a measurement of antioxidant capacity and should give industry even more confidence in its application to their food and nutrition products,” Dr. Ji said.
 
A release from AOAC International stated, “The ERP agreed that the method provides good information, particularly on the analytical range and LOD (limits of detection). The method is applicable to several different foods, covering a wide range of matrixes. Other advantages include simple extraction, use of common instruments, and testing was done on high levels.”
 
Dr. Ji explained, “ORAC and ORAC5.0, the ORAC assay panel that measures antioxidant capacity against five reactive oxygen species, were developed to help quantify antioxidant capacity of food and nutraceutical ingredients.” She adds that Brunswick Labs’ cellular antioxidant assay (CAA), an assay that applies the ORAC method in cellular systems, further evaluates antioxidant bioefficacy of nutraceutical ingredients in biological systems.
 
The AOAC status serves to reinforce a position of prominence for ORAC among antioxidant analytical methods. “When used properly, ORAC remains an excellent tool for obtaining valuable information about foods and other antioxidant sources, especially when used in conjunction with complementary investigative methods such as CAA.”