Free Radicals and Antioxidants: Health Information and Resources

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Free radicals are defined as negative, positive, or zero-charged molecules that are odd or unpaired electrons throughout an open shell configuration. They take their formation from the interaction between molecules and oxygen leaves the free radical highly reactive. This can start a domino effect, whereby it reacts with other molecules and thus creating a free radical. This process is also called oxidation.

How Free Radicals Damage Cells

Free radicals are unstable, and they try to bond with other molecules to retain their stability. However, the opposite of stability is reached. Instead of becoming stable, the molecule’s strength becomes damaged, and an unpaired molecule, making it another free radical in the body’s system. The only way for the free radical to regain its strength is to bond with another molecule. This creates more free radicals in the body.

There are both external and internal factors that can cause free radicals to be created within the body of an individual. External sources that create free radicals include cigarette smoke, radiation, ultraviolet light, environmental pollutants, pesticides, drugs and chemicals. There are also internal factors that create free radicals. These include perioxisomes, mitochondria, exercise, and inflammation.

Free radicals, if nothing stands in their way of their reproductive rate, can cause cancer, severe tissue damage, heart disease, and perpetuate the rate of aging. Free radicals are known to cause an adverse reaction with the cellular components that make up the individual. Free radicals can cause damage to the DNA, leading to an increased risk of cancer. Additionally, free radicals that attack LDL cholesterol can cause heart disease if it is untreated. As free radicals continue to multiply they create inadequately functioning cells that ultimately die. The chemical reaction caused by free radicals causes damage to cellular macromolecules, including carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids.

Resources About Free Radicals and Cellular Damage

Free Radical Research Center at the Medical Schools of Wisconsin

Preventing Free Radical Damage With Antioxidants

Antioxidants are found within the body and their function is to slow down or inhibit the further breakdown of another substance found within the individual’s system. In relation to free radicals, antioxidants are a line of defense against the damage they cause. Antioxidants are composed of a molecule that has the ability to add an electron to a free radical, making it no longer an unpaired molecule. As a result, it is effectively neutralized, and the ability for the free radical to damage cells has been decreased.

Some antioxidants are created through the normal metabolism of the body, such as uric acid, glutathione, and ubiquinol. However, the normal, everyday diet also supplies antioxidants. Fruits and vegetables contain high quantities of antioxidants that are easily ingested into the body. Vitamins A, C, and E, and beta-carotene all contain antioxidants.

Vitamin E is the principal antioxidant used to combat the effects of free radicals. It provides protection for polyunsaturated fatty acids that are located in cell membranes, helping aid against damage that could destroy parts of DNA. Vitamin E is also used in the battle against cancer from free radicals, as well as in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Some people take antioxidant supplements, found in liquid vitamins and minerals at a local drug store.

Resources About Antioxidants in Food

More About Foods Rich in Antioxidants from Oregon Health Science University

Antioxidants and Neutralizing Free Radicals

If there is an elevated number of free radicals present, but not enough antioxidants to neutralize them, a condition known as oxidative stress is created, causing chronic damage. The protective abilities of antioxidants can stop many of the health problems that free radicals create, including cancer, acute rheumatoid arthritis, and respiratory stress syndrome.

Oxidative stress develops atherosclerosis over the long-term, and creates immediate damage through a stroke or heart attack. Free radicals oxidize low density lipoproteins, also known as LDLs, which do damage to arterial walls. This oxidization of LDL cholesterol happens at the beginning stages of atherosclerosis. This oxidative reaction can be inhibited by vitamin E.

Resources About Free Radicals and Antioxidants

Information About Free Radicals and Cancer from Federal Occupational Health

Vitamin and Antioxidant Introduction by the National Institutes of Health

More About Antioxidants, Free Radicals, and Oxidation from Clemson University

How Does Diethyl Hydroxyl Amine Decompose Free Radicals?

Diethyl hydroxylamine (DEHA, for short) is a chemical that is a component of some plastics. Sometimes it is found in protective wrappings or covers. Its molecular formula is C4H11NO, and it appears as a clear, colorless liquid. Its melting point is 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 degrees Celsius), and its boiling point is 257 degrees Fahrenheit (125 degrees Celsius); its main hazard is causing mutations. DEHA is available commercially in different concentration, such as 85 percent or 98 percent. It’s flammable and can react violently with strong oxidants. It also has a tendency to irritate eyes, mucous membranes and skin, so precautions should be observed when handling it.

DEHA has a number of main uses as a free radical scavenger: to stabilize color in photographs; to inhibit corrosion, prevent discoloration in phenols and prevent overgrowth of polymers that are in distillation systems of monomers; and as an oxygen scavenger in water treatment facilities and the power sector. Its strong free radical scavenging talent and relatively low toxicity make it a popular choice for use in a number of varied industries. The film development industry uses it as an antioxidant for the quick development of color photographs, and it also initiates the development process. When it inhibits corrosion in water boilers by acting as an oxygen scavenger, it extends the life of the whole boiler system. Its inhibition of polymerization results in polymers that are stable, colorfast and unchanging in viscosity. DEHA has an ability to scavenge peroxides, organic radicals and oxygen.

Free radicals are those atoms, ions or molecules with electrons that have an odd number and are thus unpaired. These unpaired electrons result in the atom, ion or molecule being more chemically reactive than usual and more likely to cause damage when reacting with DNA or the membrane of a cell. Some examples of the harm caused by free radicals are cancer; degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s; and aging. Free radicals are likely to damage other molecules in a chain reaction as they react with neighboring molecules in order to get another electron for themselves. A free radical scavenger hunts down free radicals and binds them, preventing them from inflicting further damage on their host. In the human body, antioxidants, such as those found in certain fruits and vegetables, are thought to promote health by safely interacting with free radicals and putting a stop to their chain reactions.

Diethyl hydroxylamine donates electrons to free radicals and inhibits smog by reacting with ozone to produce C2H5NO2, O2 and water as well as CO2, CO, and C2H5OH in smaller amounts. A study performed with ICR Swiss mice showed an increase of between 7.4 percent and 12.7 percent in lifespan when they were fed DEHA, whose action was presumably to rid the mice of free radicals. Research performed with rat livers revealed that DEHA did a thorough job of inhibiting non-enzymatic peroxidation of microsomes that were heat denatured and had anti-tumor properties. On the other hand, different research has shown a decided increase in mutagenic activity in flies and rats when exposed to DEHA through injection or inhalation. It traps alkyl, alkoxy and peroxy radicals and aids in the stabilization of latex.

The action of terminating a polymerization process is also known as shortstopping, and its purpose is to have a high quality polymer while avoiding the forming of polymer gel. Here DEHA is also in favor as it provides hydrogen atoms that, in turn, link up with the reactive center, resulting in the termination of the otherwise growing polymer chain. Similarly, DEHA is used as a shortstopper in the manufacture of synthetic rubber latexes, synthetic rubber lattices and emulsion polymerization processes that have chloroprene.

Resource by Thrive Med Spa

Thrive Med Spa is a leading medical spa in Chicago that is privately owned and operated by Dr. Barry Summers, a Board Certified General & Cosmetic Surgeon. Thrive Medical Spa, has two convenient downtown locations in Lakeview and the Gold Coast. Thrive is the leading medical spa and rejuvenation center in Chicago ( and Thrive Laser Training School) and is dedicated to providing clients with the highest quality of care and state of the art treatments for cosmetic and skin rejuvenation .

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