Antioxidants in the Practice of Medicine; What Should the Clinician Know?

Antioxidants in the Practice of Medicine; What Should the Clinician Know? Cardiovasc Hematol Disord Drug Targets. 2016 Jun 13; Authors: Mukherjee D, Whayne TF Abstract Antioxidants offer protection against the damage potentially caused by free radicals, which usually involve an oxygen or nitrogen moiety, in living organisms. An antioxidant can be defined as a molecule that has the capability to inhibit the oxidation of another molecule, so, in other words, it is a reducing agent that is sufficiently stable to donate an electron to a circulating free radical and thereby result in its neutralization. Free radicals can be defined as any chemical species that has one or more mismatched electrons; these free radicals can cause a sequential reaction resulting in damage to multiple components of the organism, functioning either as an oxidant or a reductant by accepting or donating an electron, respectively. Oxidative stress can be defined as an imbalance between the production of free radicals and necessary antioxidant defenses. Therefore protection of the organism from these potentially damaging entities, when appropriate, is essential. Potential damage involves lipids, proteins, cell membranes, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), carbohydrates, and various enzymes, which can lead to cell death. Antioxidant protection from free radical-induced damage occurs via the donation of an electron with subsequent conversion of a free radical to a harmless...
Source: Cardiovascular and Hematological Disorders Drug Targets - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Cardiovasc Hematol Disord Drug Targets Source Type: research