Active Oxygens and Free Radicals in Biology

Abstract

There is now an increasing number of evidence which suggests that active oxygens and free radicals are involved in a progression of a variety of pathological events, cancer and aging. In this review are introduced the formation of various active oxygens and free radicals, their reactions with biological molecules such as lipids, proteins and DNA, the oxidative damage induced by them, and the defense systems in vivo against these oxidative damage. It is also briefly mentioned that active oxygens and free radicals are, like oxygen molecule, the double edge sword and can be used in the therapy.