How can a chemically well established antioxidant work differently when in the body?
✍ Scribed by Angelo Azzi
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2009
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 55 KB
- Volume
- 61
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1521-6543
- DOI
- 10.1002/iub.251
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
if they have questions to contribute or if they can provide answers to questions that are provided here from time to time. In the latter case, instructions will be sent to interested readers. Answers should be, whenever possible, evidence-based and provide relevant references.
Paolo Ascenzi
The idea that an antioxidant can work as nonantioxidant in the human body looks indeed like a molecular ''to be or not to be''. Indeed, it is not a dilemma, but an opportunity. Let us proceed with some order.
Oxidation reactions are essential for life, being responsible, among others, for the liberation of free energy from lipid and carbohydrates for its subsequent storage in form of adenosine triphosphate. Oxidation reactions can also be disadvantageous when creating chemical modifications of phospholipid, protein, DNA, and regulatory molecules. Increased, uncontrolled oxidations may be part of the pathogenesis of many human ailments such as cancer, atherosclerosis heart disease, stroke, cataracts, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and arthritis. However, it is not clear whether the excess oxidations are a cause or consequence of the disease. Uncontrolled oxidation reactions may be detrimental for cells especially via the formation of free radicals and associated chain reactions (1-3). Antioxidants are molecules that retard or prevent the oxidation of other compounds. Not only soluble antioxidants but also complex enzymatic systems such as catalase, superoxide dismutase and some peroxidases may be used by cells to avoid undesired oxidations.
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