Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Jul 2:11:694.
doi: 10.3389/fphys.2020.00694. eCollection 2020.

Lifestyle, Oxidative Stress, and Antioxidants: Back and Forth in the Pathophysiology of Chronic Diseases

Mehdi Sharifi-Rad  1 , Nanjangud V Anil Kumar  2 , Paolo Zucca  3 , Elena Maria Varoni  4 , Luciana Dini  5 , Elisa Panzarini  5 , Jovana Rajkovic  6 , Patrick Valere Tsouh Fokou  7 , Elena Azzini  8 , Ilaria Peluso  8 , Abhay Prakash Mishra  9 , Manisha Nigam  10 , Youssef El Rayess  11 , Marc El Beyrouthy  11 , Letizia Polito  12 , Marcello Iriti  13 , Natália Martins  14   15 , Miquel Martorell  16   17 , Anca Oana Docea  18 , William N Setzer  19 , Daniela Calina  18 , William C Cho  20 , Javad Sharifi-Rad  21
Affiliations
Review

Lifestyle, Oxidative Stress, and Antioxidants: Back and Forth in the Pathophysiology of Chronic Diseases

Mehdi Sharifi-Rad et al. Front Physiol. .

Abstract

Oxidative stress plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. Long term exposure to increased levels of pro-oxidant factors can cause structural defects at a mitochondrial DNA level, as well as functional alteration of several enzymes and cellular structures leading to aberrations in gene expression. The modern lifestyle associated with processed food, exposure to a wide range of chemicals and lack of exercise plays an important role in oxidative stress induction. However, the use of medicinal plants with antioxidant properties has been exploited for their ability to treat or prevent several human pathologies in which oxidative stress seems to be one of the causes. In this review we discuss the diseases in which oxidative stress is one of the triggers and the plant-derived antioxidant compounds with their mechanisms of antioxidant defenses that can help in the prevention of these diseases. Finally, both the beneficial and detrimental effects of antioxidant molecules that are used to reduce oxidative stress in several human conditions are discussed.

Keywords: aging; antioxidant defense; cancer; cardiovascular diseases; natural antioxidants; neurological disorders; oxidative stress; reactive oxygen species.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Schematic presentation of the sources of free radicals and their effects on the human body.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Schematic figure of the link between ROS, oxidative stress and their effects on the human body. Oxidative stress is the imbalance that occurs when there is an increased production of free radicals that exceeds the body’s ability to neutralize it. Alteration of chemical reactions at the cellular level leads to the appearance of free radicals and peroxides that affect the intracellular structures – proteins, lipids, DNA, with the disruption of intrinsic mechanisms at this level. Free radicals are normally produced in the body due to the influence of external factors, such as pollution, cigarette smoke, or internal, due to intracellular metabolism when antioxidant mechanisms are exceeded.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Primary enzymes (SOD or peroxidases) act directly in scavenging ROS. Secondary enzymes, such as glutathione reductase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, support the action of primary enzymes regenerating NAPDH and reduced glutathione.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Glutathione (GSH), a tripeptide with an active –SH function. GSH undergoes a redox cycle, dimerizing with a disulfide bridge formation.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Chemical structures of Lipoic acid, Melatonin, Coenzyme Q10.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Chemical structures of Vitamin C, Curcumin, Resveratrol, Quercetin, Vitamin E, β-carotene, Lycopene.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abramov A. Y., Jacobson J., Wientjes F., Hothersall J., Canevari L., Duchen M. R. (2005). Expression and modulation of an NADPH oxidase in mammalian astrocytes. J. Neurosci. 25 9176–9184. 10.1523/jneurosci.1632-05.2005 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alfonso-Prieto M., Biarnes X., Vidossich P., Rovira C. (2009). The molecular mechanism of the catalase reaction. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131 11751–11761. 10.1021/ja9018572 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aminjan H. H., Abtahi S. R., Hazrati E., Chamanara M., Jalili M., Paknejad B. (2019). Targeting of oxidative stress and inflammation through ROS/NF-kappaB pathway in phosphine-induced hepatotoxicity mitigation. Life Sci. 232:116607. 10.1016/j.lfs.2019.116607 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Andreyev A. Y., Kushnareva Y. E., Starkov A. A. (2005). Mitochondrial metabolism of reactive oxygen species. Biochemistry 70 200–214. - PubMed
    1. Antonioni A., Fantini C., Dimauro I., Caporossi D. (2019). Redox homeostasis in sport: do athletes really need antioxidant support? Res. Sports Med. 27 147–165. 10.1080/15438627.2018.1563899 - DOI - PubMed