Assignment

Roll No: PD-S08 064.

Course Title: Pharm D.
Assignment Title: Anti oxditants & their
effect on human body.
Subject: Organic chemistry II.
Submitted to: Miss Tabinda.
Submitted by: YASIR YAQOOB.
Submitted date: 01 April, 2009.

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 Contents

What are Anti-Oxidants ? page ≈ 03

Effect of Anti oxidants on body page ≈ 04

Anti-Oxidants and Disease prevention page ≈ 05-06

Free Radical Theory page ≈ 07

Sources of Anti Oxidants page ≈ 07-08

Refrences. page ≈ 09

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 Anti Oxidants
"Antioxidant" is the collective name for the vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, and
polyphenols that protect the body from harmful free radicals.

OR

‘’An antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other

molecules. ‘’

Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an

oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals, which start chain
reactions that damage cells. Antioxidants terminate these chain reactions by removing
free radical intermediates, and inhibit other oxidation reactions by being oxidized
themselves. As a result, antioxidants are often reducing agents.in short anti oxidants
neutralize free radicals by donating one of their free electrons ,ending the electron
stealing reaction.

Space-filling model of the antioxidant metabolite glutathione. The yellow sphere

is the redox-active sulfur atom that provides antioxidant activity, while the red,
blue, white, and dark grey spheres represent oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and
carbon atoms, respective.

Antioxidants are classified into two broad divisions, depending on

whether they are soluble in water (hydrophilic) or in lipids (hydrophobic). In general,
water-soluble antioxidants react with oxidants in the cell cytosol and the blood plasma,
while lipid-soluble antioxidants protect cell membranes from lipid peroxidation.These
compounds may be synthesized in the body or obtained from the diet. The different
antioxidants are present at a wide range of concentrations in body fluids and tissues,
with some such as glutathione or ubiquinone mostly present within cells, while others
such as uric acid are more evenly distributed . Some antioxidants are only found in a
few organisms and these compounds can be important in pathogens and can be
virulence factors.

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Effect of Anti Oxidants on Human body :
"Antioxidant" is the collective name for the vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, and
polyphenols that protect the body from harmful free radicals.

The effect of free radicals;

Some of the degenerative conditions caused by free radicals include:

• Deterioration of the eye lens, which contributes to blindness.

• Inflammation of the joints (arthritis).
• Damage to nerve cells in the brain, which contributes to conditions such as
Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease.
• Acceleration of the ageing process.
• Increased risk of coronary heart disease, since free radicals encourage low
density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol to adhere to artery walls.
• Certain cancers, triggered by damaged cell DNA.

Antioxidants are substances or nutrients in our foods which can prevent or slow the
oxidative damage to our body. When our body cells use oxygen, they naturally
produce free radicals (by-products) which can cause damage. Antioxidants act as
"free radical scavengers" and hence prevent and repair damage done by these free
radicals. The name is indicative of the mechanism by which they help prevent
disease. In human, a small but significant percentage of oxygen molecules in the body
will become electrically charged due to natural cellular activity and/or exposure to
environmental factors such as tobacco smoke and radiation. The oxygen molecule
becomes a "free radical" as it undergoes this process of oxidation. Free radicals are
highly reactive as they try to steal electrons from other molecules, including DNA and
cellular membranes. They will continue to react with other cellular molecules in a
chain-reaction mechanism. This chain reaction of free radicals can damage cells,
which may play a role in the development of certain conditions like heart disease and
cancer. Antioxidants, however, stop the chain-reaction by giving up electrons and
neutralizing free radicals so that they cannot induce any more oxidative damage.
Unlike other molecules, antioxidants do not become reactive when they lose an
electron.

Many studies have shown the link between free radicals and a number of
degenerative diseases associated with aging. Thus, it is possible that antioxidants can
be beneficial in reducing the incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, cognitive
impairment, Alzheimer's disease, immune dysfunction, cataracts, stroke, and
mascular degeneration.

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Health problems such as heart disease, macular degeneration, diabetes, cancer etc
are all contributed by oxidative damage.Antioxidants may also enhance immune
defense and therefore lower the risk of cancer and infection.

Although oxidation reactions are crucial for life, they can also be damaging; hence,
plants and animals maintain complex systems of multiple types of antioxidants, such
as glutathione, vitamin C, and vitamin E as well as enzymes such as catalase,
superoxide dismutase and various peroxidases. Low levels of antioxidants, or
inhibition of the antioxidant enzymes, causes oxidative stress and may damage or kill
cells.

Anti Oxdidants & Disease Prevention;

Vitamin E may protect against Cardio vascular disease by defending against LDL
oxidation(Low Density Lipo protein) and also artery clogging plaque formation.

♥ Many studies have correlated high vitamin C intakes with low rates of cancer,
particularly cancers of mouth,layrnx and esophagus.

♥ Although antioxidant supplements might promote health, later large clinical trials did
not detect any benefit and suggested instead that excess supplementation may be
harmful.

♥ Consumption of alcohol causes a host of toxins in the body and antioxidants are
useful in the detoxification process.

♥Certain antioxidants help with the control of the histamine release mechanism, it
may be of use for allergies.

♥ By helping to protect blood vessels from fatty deposits they may help the veins
maintain their elasticity

♥ Helps to relieve localized oxidative stress and also promote healthy joint cells

♥ Vitamin C has long been indicated in the treatment of both gingivitis and
mouth ulcers, but a combined antioxidant formula would also be indicated.

♥ Excessive free radicals destroy genetic material and sperm counts may be
lower than normal, which could lead to infertility.

♥Promotes the growth of tissue and helps prevent DNA destruction, they are
also indicated to assist with memory loss.

♥It assists in vein and artery health, it would also be indicated to help Piles and
varicose veins

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 ♥Although the topical application of vitamin E has long been advocated to
prevent the formation of scar tissue in wound healing, the dietary
supplementation of antioxidants can also be useful in this case.

♥Antioxidants help to reduce the build-up of peroxide from the body, an

increase in stamina should be experienced when they are abundant in the body.

♥ General stress levels, as well as specific female stress during pregnancy,

menopause or when taking oral contraceptives, as well as stress felt by
adolescents while growing up, can benefit from extra antioxidants.

♥ The oxidation processes can hamper wound healing and since antioxidants
will help control this, better healing should be promoted and the immune system
boosted in general, which will help to prevent infections.

♥ Stronger immune resistance to flues, viruses and infections.

♥ Greatly reduced incidence of all cancers.
♥ Prevention of glaucoma and macular degeneration
♥ Reduced risk of cholesterol-oxidation and heart disease.
♥ Anti-aging of cells and overall body.

As oxidative stress is an important part of many human diseases, the use of

antioxidants in pharmacology is treatments for stroke and neurodegenerative
diseases. However, it is unknown whether oxidative stress is the cause or the
consequence ofdisease.Antioxidants are also widely used as ingredients in dietary
supplements in the hope of maintaining health and preventing diseases such as
cancer and coronary heart disease.

Although the list above almost covers the whole spectrum of ills and ailments, it
must be noted that it is not claimed that antioxidants will cure or prevent these
conditions, but there is a strong indication that they may be of assistance.

Free-radical theory;
Anti oxidants are very important for anti-aging of cells and overall body .The
free-radical theory of aging states that organisms age because cells
accumulate free radical damage over time. A free radical is any atom or
molecule that has a single unpaired electron in an outer shell. While a few free
radicals such as melanin are not chemically reactive, most biologically-relevant
free radicals are highly reactive. For most biological structures, free radical
damage is closely associated with oxidative damage. Antioxidants are reducing
agents, and limit oxidative damage to biological structures by passivating free
radicals.Strictly speaking, the free radical theory is only concerned with free
radicals, but it has since been expanded to encompass oxidative damage from
reactive oxygen species such as O2-, H2O2, or OH-.

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Sources of antioxidants;
Good sources of antioxidants include:

• Allium sulphur compounds - leeks, onions and garlic.

• Anthocyanins - eggplant, grapes and berries.
• Beta-carotene - pumpkin, mangoes, apricots, carrots, spinach and
parsley.
• Catechins - red wine and tea.
• Copper - seafood, lean meat, milk and nuts.
• Cryptoxanthins - red capsicum, pumpkin and mangoes.
• Flavonoids - tea, green tea, citrus fruits, red wine, onion and apples.
• Indoles - cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and
cauliflower.
• Isoflavonoids - soybeans, tofu, lentils, peas and milk.
• Lignans - sesame seeds, bran, whole grains and vegetables.
• Lutein - leafy greens like spinach, and corn.
• Lycopene - tomatoes, pink grapefruit and watermelon.
• Manganese - seafood, lean meat, milk and nuts.
• Polyphenols - thyme and oregano.
• Selenium - seafood, offal, lean meat and whole grains.
• Vitamin C - oranges, blackcurrants, kiwi fruit, mangoes, broccoli,
spinach, capsicum and strawberries.
• Vitamin E - vegetable oils (such as wheat germ oil), avocados, nuts,
seeds and whole grains.
• Zinc - seafood, lean meat, milk and nuts.
• Zoochemicals - red meat, offal and fish. Also derived from the plants
animals eat.

Sources of Anti-oxidants

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 Refrences

› www.wikipedia.com

› www.healthchecksystems.com

› www.Healthcastle.com

› www.rice.edu

› www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au

› http://www.bellaonline.com

› www.cosmetiqueresearch.com/preview//antiox.html

›http://www.cosmetiqueresearch.com/preview//images/antiox_text.\jpg

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