Chapter 15: Conclusions and Future Prospects

Wherever oxidation is problematic, antioxidants are required and hence there will be a continued need for studies of antioxidant activity. This chapter provides a brief overview of the major themes emerging from the book and summarizes areas of research where the context clearly points to antioxidant activity measurements being relevant and useful. The ongoing controversy around the use of antioxidant activity measurements in the contexts of diet and health and bioactivity discovery is covered, along with suggestions for where future research may be realized. Furthermore, a new paradigm for utilizing data from various antioxidant and bioactivity assays is advanced – the definition of a “bioactivity space” – with a view to stimulating further research into the usefulness of in vitro antioxidant tests.