Strengths:

Simple, cheap and rapid, since the radical is stable and needs not be generated compared to ABTS [29] Can quantify antioxidants in complex biological systems [29] The radical scavenging time is 30 min, allowing DPPH to react efficiently, even with weak antioxidants [29] Results are reproducible and comparable to other radical scavenging methods [30] Efficient for thermally unstable compounds, since radical scavenging is measured at room temperature [31] Highly sensitive [16] Can screen many samples in a timely fashion [16] Good correlation is usually reported with bioactive compounds (phenols, flavonoids) with a regression factor R > 0.8

Limitations:

DPPH radical chromogens dissolve only organic solvents (lipophilic) [16] DPPH tends to react with other radicals present in the tested samples [29] Since the nitrogen centre is highly sterically hindered by three phenyl groups, DPPH represents a poor model for radical quenching in vivo and in food samples [32] DPPH is sensitive to Lewis bases [33] Upon exposure to light, absorbance of DPPH tends to decrease, which requires analysis in the dark [34] Non-physiological resemblance due to the absence of DPPH free radicals in the human body [11]