Antioxidant Capacity of Food (original) (raw)

Fundamentals of antioxidant capacity in food

Peer review, 2024

This paper aims to discuss the basic concepts of antioxidant capacity/activity in food and the oxidative balance needed for health. The language in this paper is kept basic enough for the general public to understand. The paper provides condensed information on this area as part of a broader effort to popularize science. The paper begins by discussing the basic concepts of antioxidants and free radicals since general chemistry concepts. Oxidation-reduction reactions being essential for life, but also producing harmful free radicals is the basic dichotomy to be discussed. The paper then presents the importance of food in the oxidative balance of human metabolism and how this balance is necessary for the maintenance and promotion of health, mainly reducing the risk of non-transmissible chronic diseases. Finally, the paper discusses the role of antioxidants in anti-aging and DNA protection.

Role of oxidative stress in various diseases: Relevance of dietary antioxidants

The Journal of Phytopharmacology

Oxidative stress plays important role in the pathophysiology of various diseases. Oxidative stress is caused in body due to an imbalance between the activities of endogenous pro-oxidative enzymes. Cellular antioxidants are known to change their redox state and they can be targeted for destruction, regulate oxidative processes involved signal transduction, effect gene expression and the pathways of cell proliferation and death. Oxidants and antioxidants play an important role in maintaining a balance between free radicals produced by metabolism or derived from environmental sources and the antioxidant system of the body. A natural antioxidant system exists in the biological systems which is responsible for prevention of damage by pro-oxidants. Impaired endogenous antioxidant system results in accumulation of free radicals, which not only induces lipid peroxidation but also imposes severe stress on the body leading to many diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson disease, Diabe...

A review of the interaction among dietary antioxidants and reactive oxygen species

The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 2007

During normal cellular activities, various processes inside of cells produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). Some of the most common ROS are hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), superoxide ion (O 2 À ), and hydroxide radical (OH À ). These compounds, when present in a high enough concentration, can damage cellular proteins and lipids or form DNA adducts that may promote carcinogenic activity. The purpose of antioxidants in a physiological setting is to prevent ROS concentrations from reaching a high-enough level within a cell that damage may occur. Cellular antioxidants may be enzymatic (catalase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase) or nonenzymatic (glutathione, thiols, some vitamins and metals, or phytochemicals such as isoflavones, polyphenols, and flavanoids).

The Supportive Role of Dietary Antioxidants in Antioxidant Defence System

Advances in Life Science and Technology, 2019

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species are generated both endogenously and in response to external factors, such as diet and lifestyle, and play a major role in the aetiology of several degenerative diseases. The effect of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) is balanced by the antioxidant action of enzymatic antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, antioxidant compounds such as, thioredoxin, lipoic acid and dietary antioxidant such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E, carotenoids, flavonoids. Antioxidant defences are extremely important as they represent the direct removal of free radicals, thus providing protection for biological sites. However, as this protection may not be sufficient to entirely prevent the damage by ROS/RNS, consumption of food rich in dietary antioxidants which offers supportive role in antioxidant defence system in removing excessive ROS/RNS become even more important in protecting cell biomolecules against oxidative damage.

Aspects of antioxidant foods and supplements in health and disease

Nutrition Reviews, 2009

Free radicals generated as byproducts of normal metabolism can damage biologically relevant molecules. When their generation is increased, damage can also be increased, resulting in the development of many pathological conditions. Antioxidant defenses protect the body from the detrimental effects of free radicals. Dietary fruits and vegetables provide a reasonable amount of compounds that act as physiological antioxidants. Although existing knowledge does not allow a final and conclusive assessment of the relevance of antioxidants for health, it does provide the basis for its rational consideration. This paper addresses the specific aspects of antioxidant supplementation in health and disease.

Free radicals, antioxidants and functional foods: Impact on human health

Pharmacognosy Reviews, 2010

In recent years, there has been a great deal of attention toward the field of free radical chemistry. Free radicals reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species are generated by our body by various endogenous systems, exposure to different physiochemical conditions or pathological states. A balance between free radicals and antioxidants is necessary for proper physiological function. If free radicals overwhelm the body's ability to regulate them, a condition known as oxidative stress ensues. Free radicals thus adversely alter lipids, proteins, and DNA and trigger a number of human diseases. Hence application of external source of antioxidants can assist in coping this oxidative stress. Synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxytoluene and butylated hydroxyanisole have recently been reported to be dangerous for human health. Thus, the search for effective, nontoxic natural compounds with antioxidative activity has been intensified in recent years. The present review provides a brief overview on oxidative stress mediated cellular damages and role of dietary antioxidants as functional foods in the management of human diseases.

Prooxidant Activities of Antioxidants and Their Impact on Health

Acta Clinica Croatica

This review article is focused on the impact of antioxidants and prooxidants on health with emphasis on the type of antioxidants that should be taken. Medical researchers suggest that diet may be the solution for the control of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular complications, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and different cancers. In this survey, we found scientific evidence that the use of antioxidants should be limited only to the cases where oxidative stress has been identified. This is often the case of specific population groups such as postmenopausal women, the elderly, infants, workers exposed to environmental pollutants, and the obese. Before starting any supplementation, it is necessary to measure oxidative stress and to identify and eliminate the possible sources of free radicals and thus increased oxidative stress.

Antioxidants for the Prevention and Treatment of Non-communicable Diseases

Journal of Exploratory Research in Pharmacology

Abiotic environmental stress causes plants and animals to produce excessive superoxide radicals that are extremely toxic and reactive, thereby causing injury to tissue resulting in the occurrence of several disorders. Antioxidants can counteract free radicals by preventing non-communicable diseases. There are natural and synthetic antioxidants. Natural antioxidants in fruits, vegetables, and spices can be consumed, while synthetic antioxidants are produced in laboratories via chemical processes. This review focused on the sources, pharmacological properties, applications, and prospects of natural and synthetic antioxidants, as well as exogenous and endogenous antioxidants. A literature search was done using different search engines like Google Books, Science.gov, Microsoft Academic, Worldwide Science, ResearchGate, Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE), Medline, and PubMed Central. Different keywords, such as antioxidants, free radicals, oxidative stress, superoxide radicals, and oxygen radicals, were used. The relevant literature was collected and used in this review. Antioxidants inhibit oxidation and help to prevent non-communicable diseases, such as aging and inflammatory processes, tumors, kidney and liver diseases, coronary heart disease, cataracts, renal toxicity, and neurological diseases. It was found that antioxidants in the diet have the capacity to prevent oxidative anxiety-related disorders.

Role of Antioxidants in Pathophysiology

To counter the harmful effects of reactive species, antioxidant defencemechanism operates to detoxify or scavenge the reactive species. Antioxidants are able to neutralize free radical and render them harmless. It has been suggested that the extent of damage caused by the free radical might be modified by three dietary intervention strategies: (a) caloric restriction and thus a depression in free radicals arising due to normal metabolism; (b) minimizing the intake of food substance that increase the free radicals, such as poly-unsaturated fatty acids; (c) supplementation with one or more antioxidants in diet. A wide array of enzymatic antioxidants defence exists, that include superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, catalase etc. The interrelationship between both the activity and the intracellular levels of these substances protect them from toxicity. ABSTRACT

Oxidative stress and antioxidant mechanisms in human body

Journal of Applied Biotechnology & Bioengineering, 2019

The present review aims to high light on the oxidative stress, and prevention by internal antioxidants and external antioxidants by some natural products possessing antioxidant properties. Oxidative stress occurs when the balance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and detoxification favors an increase in ROS levels, leading to disturbed cellular function. ROS causes damage to cellular macromolecules causing lipid peroxidation, nucleic acid, and protein alterations. Their formation is considered as a pathobiochemical mechanism involved in the initiation or progression phase of various diseases such as atherosclerosis, ischemic heart diseases, diabetes, and initiation of carcinogenesis or liver diseases. In order to maintain proper cell signaling, it is likely that a number of radical scavenging enzymes maintain a threshold level of ROS inside the cell. However, when the level of ROS exceeds this threshold, an increase in ROS production may lead to excessive signals to th...