I will like to add the following questions:
1. Does the free radical play any vital function in the body? Are there consequences of mopping them out completely through the consumption of high amount of antioxidants as food and supplements?
2. When does antioxidants becomes prooxidants. Does the prooxidants cause more harm than the so-called free radicals?
Useful links will be helpful.
Thank you.
Hi,
Fear of free radicals may be exaggerated, according to scientists from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet. A new study, published in The Journal of Physiology, shows that free radicals act as signal substances that cause the heart to beat with the correct force.
"As usual, it's a case of everything in moderation. In normal conditions, free radicals act as important signal substances, but very high levels or long-lasting increases can lead to disease," says Professor Håkan Westerblad, who has led the study.
"Free radicals play an important role, since they contribute to the heart being able to pump more blood in stress-filled situations," says Håkan Westerblad. "On the other hand, persistent stress can lead to heart failure, and chronically increased levels of free radicals may be part of the problem here."
Dear Sir. Concerning your issue about the vital function of free radicals and the prooxidants the body . 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 phenomenon called oxidative stress. This process plays a major part in the development of chronic and degenerative illness such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, aging, cataract, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. The human body has several mechanisms to counteract oxidative stress by producing antioxidants, which are either naturally produced in situ, or externally supplied through foods and/or supplements. This mini-review deals with the taxonomy, the mechanisms of formation and catabolism of the free radicals, it examines their beneficial and deleterious effects on cellular activities, it highlights the potential role of the antioxidants in preventing and repairing damages caused by oxidative stress, and it discusses the antioxidant supplementation in health maintenance. I think the following below links may help you in your analysis:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3614697/pdf/IJBS-4-89.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3920909/pdf/BMRI2014-761264.pdf https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/fe7a/a19d54210d9b8792485126843b5fa8d72791.pdf
http://www.vitaviva-info.com/en/healthliterature/antioxidants-pro-oxidants-and-free-radicals
Thanks
Dear Dr. Emmanuel,
Thank you so much for your answer. By what mechanism do free radicals act as signal substance? Please provide the link to this article for further studies. Any standard to the amount/limit of free radicals in the body. A monitoring kit may help.
Thank you.
With regards,
Egbuna, C.
Dear Prof. Isam,
Thank you so much for your answer. The links are useful.
In one of the articles I learnt the phagocytes (neutrophils, macrophages, monocytes) release free radicals to destroy invading pathogenic microbes as part of the body’s defense mechanism against disease. Can the scavenging of the radicals make the efforts of the phagocytes unuseful?
Many question.
Thaank you.
With regards,
Egbuna, C.
This review article by John Finley has some good insight into how free radicals play important roles in the body and how redox balance is important. For instance, "ROS are regulators of cellular physiology and altering intracellular ROS status may affect many metabolic pathways. Dysregulation of ROS may dysregulate insulin function/glucose metabolism in at least three ways..."
J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Jul 13;59(13):6837-46. doi: 10.1021/jf2013875. Epub 2011 Jun 10.
Antioxidants in foods: state of the science important to the food industry.
Finley JW1, Kong AN, Hintze KJ, Jeffery EH, Ji LL, Lei XG.
Dear Dr. Sara,
Thank you so much for providing this link. There are very vital points in it. One reads 'removal of too many ROS can upset cell signaling pathways'. This is very important.
Thank you.
With regards,
Egbuna, C.
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