Investigation of the antioxidant capacity of caramels: Combination of laboratory assays and C. elegans model

Caramel is one of the most current additive/ingredient obtained by controlled heat treatment of carbohydrates. A combination of in vitro and in vivo methods showed that aromatic caramels and caramel colours are antioxidant. The highest value is obtained for Class III caramel colours for in vitro TEAC and KRL tests (401 µmol Trolox equivalent/g and 5 366 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g, respectively). In in vivo test, caramels also increase the resistance of C. elegans to oxidant attack, with until 40% live worms after 18 h of treatment in the presence of caramels against no live worms after 12 h of treatment without. In conclusion, this study explore benefit effect of caramels and showed an antioxidant activity linked to their color intensity. The molecules involved remain to be explored.