Explain about the Antioxidant Activity of Sugar?
Several carbohydrates are tremendous scavengers for metal ions. Glucose, fructose and sugar alcohols (sorbitol and mannitol) have the capability to block the reactive sites of ions, like copper, iron and to a lesser extent, cobalt. This is feature of monosaccharides and aids in food preservation by retarding catalytic oxidation reactions. Additionally, Maillard reaction products are identified to have antioxidant properties in food systems. For this reason, few mixtures of Maillard reaction products have been used in the food industry as food additives for biscuits, cookies and sausages.