摘要：Tea polyphenols arepowerful natural antioxidants. To quickly evaluate theantioxidantactivity of these compounds, a quantum chemistry calculation method - PM6 was employed to calculate the heat of formation (HOF). The HOF valuewas negatively correlated well (r= –0.910, RMS=0.12) with the antioxidant activity of flavanols (catechins), flavonols (kaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin), flavanones (dihydromyricetin), anthocyanins (delphinidin, cyanidin, pelargonidin), proanthocyanidins and theaflavins. The number and position of hydroxyl, and the structural groups influencing the conjugation between the B- and C-rings could affect the HOF value and radical scavenging activity of flavonoids. Therefore, the HOF value could be used as a descriptor for modeling antioxidant activity of polyphenols.
