Assessing Age-Related Changes in Antioxidant Status: The FRASC Assay for Total Antioxidant Power and Ascorbic Acid Concentration in Biological Fluids

There is accumulating evidence that oxidative damage to protein, lipid, carbohydrate and DNA is an important cause and/or effect of cellular and subcellular changes associated with disease, and is responsible for at least some of the physiological, but ultimately fatal, changes that accompany aging (1 –8 ). Advancing age brings increasing risk of chronic degenerative disease including cancer, cardiovascular disease, cataracts, and dementia (1 –6 , 8 ).Immune status declines, with consequent increased risk of infection and, owing to a combination of physical and socioeconomic factors, nutritional status is often poor in the elderly, increasing the likelihood of poor antioxidant status (9 ).