1 Phenol coefficient is the number indicating the effectiveness of a disinfectant

as a germicide relative to phenol, which is arbitrarily assigned the number 1:

based on the time required to kill a given quantity of a specific type of
bacteria.It is the measure of the disinfecting power of a substance that is
determined by dividing the figure indicating the degree of dilution of the
disinfectant that kills a microorganism within a given time by that indicating
the degree of dilution of phenol killing the microorganism under similar
conditions To calculate for phenol coefficient, the number indicating the
degree of dilution of the disinfectant in which it kills the microorganism within
a given time is divided by the number indicating the degree of dilution of phenol
in which the latter kills the microorganism in the same period of time and
under the same conditions. A phenol coefficient that is greater than 1 indicates
that the disinfectant is more effective than phenol. In contrast, a phenol
coefficient that is lower than 1 means the disinfectant is less effective than
phenol

4. Phenolics are able to act as antioxidants in a number of ways. Phenolic

hydroxyl groups are good hydrogen donors: hydrogen-donating antioxidants can
react with reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen species in a termination
reaction, which breaks the cycle of generation of new radicals. Following
interaction with the initial reactive species, a radical form of the antioxidant is
produced, having a much greater chemical stability than the initial radical. The
interaction of the hydroxyl groups of phenolics with the pi electrons of the
benzene ring gives the molecules special properties, most notably the ability to
generate free radicals where the radical is stabilized by delocalization. The
formation of these relatively long-lived radicals is able to modify radical-
mediated oxidation processes. The antioxidant capacity of phenolic
compounds is also attributed to their ability to chelate metal ions involved in
the production of free radicals. However, phenolics can act as pro-oxidants by
chelating metals in a manner that maintains or increases their catalytic
activity or by reducing metals, thus increasing their ability to form free
radicals. Phenolic structures often have the potential to strongly interact with
proteins, due to their hydrophobic benzenoid rings and hydrogen-bonding
potential of the phenolic hydroxyl groups. This gives phenolics the ability to act
as antioxidants also by virtue of their capacity to inhibit some enzymes
involved in radical generation, such as various cytochrome P450 isoforms,
lipoxygenases, cyclooxygenase and xanthine oxidase