Free Radicals and Antioxidants
Dr.Herat soni
3
rd
year resident
Biochemistry
Free radicals
The most damaging radicals in biological systems
are oxygen radicals (sometimes called reactive
oxygen species)—especially superoxide
hydroxyl, OH∙, and perhydroxyl, O2H∙.
Radical Damage
●DNA : Chemical changes
●Lipids :
Radical damage to Unsturated FA in cell
membrane and plasma lipoprotein
Lipid peroxides
Reactive dialdehydes
Chemically modify proteins and Nucleic acid
●Proteins :Tyrosine Residue , Cleavage of
peptide bond
Effects of radical damage
DNA
Inheritable mutation and cancer
Chemical modification of amino acid in protein
Auto immune Disease
Damage to plasma LDL
Atherosclerosis
Sources of oxygen radicals
●Ionising radiation
●Transition metal ions
●Nitric oxide
●Respiratory burst
●Mitochondrial oxidation of reduced flavins
Respiratory burst
Plasma free radical estimation
Lipid peroxides
Under acidic conditions, they oxidize Fe2+ to
Fe3+ , which forms a chromophore with
xylenol orange
Dialdehydes formed from lipid peroxides
Measured by reaction with thiobarbituric acid
they form a red fluorescent adduct—
Total thiobarbituric acid reactive substances,
TBARS.
Protection against Radical damage
●Metal ions as prostetic group
●Superoxide dismutase and catalase
●Glutathione peroxidase (Selenium)
●Vitamin E and Vitamin C
●Ascorbate , Uric acid and variety of polyphenols
Stable free radical trapping mechanism
●Ubiquinone and carotenes
Antioxidant can be pro-Oxidant
●Vitamin C
●Vitamin E
●Beta-carotene