TECHNIQUES & PROCEDURES Role of Antioxidants in Health Maintenance

ABSTRACT: Free radicals are produced in the body as by products of normal metabolism and as a result of expo-sure to radiation and some environmental pollutants. Because they are highly reactive, they can damage cellu-lar components and are implicated in a variety of dis-eases. Free radicals are normally neutralized by efficient systems in the body that include the antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxi-dase) and the nutrient-derived antioxidant small mol-ecules (vitamin E, vitamin C, carotenes, flavonoids, glu-tathione, uric acid, and taurine). In healthy individuals, a delicate balance exists between free radicals and anti-oxidants. In some pathologic conditions such as diabetes, and in critically ill patients, oxidative stress causes the level of antioxidants to fall below normal. Antioxidan