Free radicals, oxidants, and antioxidants

Free radicals, oxidants, and antioxidants.

Free radicals are species with one or more unpaired electrons. The unpaired electron results in a species that is often highly reactive. Free radicals have a wide range of reactions; two broad classes of reactions are electron transfer and addition reactions resulting in covalent bond formation. Free radicals can be classified as reducing (donating an electron to an acceptor) or oxidizing (acce...

Free Radicals, Antioxidants and Disease

Living cells continually generate free radicals or reactive oxygen species (ROS) through the respiratory chain during energetic metabolism. ROS can either be harmful or play important physiological roles in our body. Besides being produced during normal cell metabolism there are numerous exogenous factors, such as irradiation by UV light, X-rays, gamma-rays, and atmospheric pollutants which may...

Interaction between antioxidants and free radicals

A Primer on Free Radicals and Antioxidants

Free radicals inflict damage upon other compounds by stealing electrons from them, which initiates bouts of inflammation that can lead to scar tissue formation. For example, if enough free radicals steal electrons from the inner wall of one of your blood vessels, the resulting inflammation can lead to hardening of the vessel wall, which can cause compromised blood circulation in that area of yo...

Free Radicals, Antioxidants in Disease and Health

Free radicals and oxidants play a dual role as both toxic and beneficial compounds, since they can be either harmful or helpful to the body. They are produced either from normal cell metabolisms in situ or from external sources (pollution, cigarette smoke, radiation, medication). When an overload of free radicals cannot gradually be destroyed, their accumulation in the body generates a phenomen...