We measured directly the reactive oxygen generated from a peroxide-free reaction system when a ferrous complex with nitrilotriacetic acid was oxidized to the ferric complex. Further, it was observed by a measurement of chemiluminescence that peroxidation of a lipid substrate added in the system is initiated by the Fe(3+)-type of reactive oxygen generated. Antioxidant activity can be estimated by contrasting the reaction rates of lipid peroxidation between the systems with and without a putative antioxidant sample. By this method, the antioxidant activity, expressed as catechin equivalent, of red wines for linoleic acid peroxidation was shown to be higher than those of rosé and white wines (189-311, 84, and 37 microM for red, rosé, and white wines, respectively) because of a higher concentration of polyphenols such as flavanol and anthocyanin in red wines. The chemiluminescence measurement would be a promising method for evaluating the antioxidant potential because of its highly specific and sensitive detection of the hydroperoxide and for monitoring in situ peroxidation reaction.