Antioxidative properties of herbal extracts

Antioxidative properties of herbal extracts The main subject of this graduation thesis is the assessment of anti-oxidation activity of Stellaria media. Anti-oxidation protection of the organism is a complex process of mechanisms, which must be in balance with the production of free radicals. The excess of the free radicals are referred to as oxidation stress. The organism is able to resist the free radicals inducing oxidation stress with the preventative and remedial mechanisms, physical barriers or with the influence of antioxidants of enzymatic and non-enzymatic origin. Great attention is particularly paid to the incidence of free radicals in the live organism. These are mainly reactive nitrogen radicals (RNS) and reactive oxygen radicals (ROS), also including superoxide, but this is not only a harmful radical, it also plays an important role during the protection of the organism against infection. It forms a part of the effective weapon of phagocytes against bacteria and extraneous structures. The subject of my graduation thesis was Stellaria media, an annual plant, which is referred to as troublesome weed, nevertheless it contains a number of important substances such as: ascorbic acid, carbohydrates, peptides, glycosides, lipids and higher fatty acids, carotenoids and flavonoids. Recently they are..