A method of assaying the antioxidant capacity of a sample, the method including preparing an extraction solution including a solubility enhancing compound, adding the sample to the extraction solution, extracting the antioxidants present in the sample, adding a fluorescent probe to the extract, adding a free radical generator to the extract, detecting the fluorescence intensity decay of the probe in the presence of the sample over time, and calculating the antioxidant capacity of the sample based on the fluorescence intensity decay of the probe in the presence of the sample.
