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Article: Antioxidants and oxidation inhibitors.(Wellness Ingredients Guide)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Prepared Foods
- Article date:
- December 1, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 BNP Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Biological systems - whether it is the human body or the foods we eat - are subject to oxidative stress from highly reactive free radicals and reactive oxygen species. Although free radicals are an important part of some metabolic processes, they are also linked to degenerative diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, cataracts, atherosclerosis, cancer, brain dysfunction and heart disease.
At the molecular level, free radicals cause damage to cellular material from proteins and lipids to DNA and cell walls. In defense, living organisms possess a variety of antioxidant materials that control oxidative reactions through mechanisms such as inactivation of free ...