Antioxidants for the Prevention and Treatment of Non-communicable Diseases
Thecla Okeahunwa Ayoka, Benjamin O. Ezema, Chijioke Nwoye Eze, Charles O. Nnadi
Abstract
Abiotic environmental stress causes plants and animals to produce excessive superoxide radicals that are extremely toxic and reactive, thereby causing injury to tissue resulting in the occurrence of several disorders. Antioxidants can counteract free radicals by preventing non-communicable diseases. There are natural and synthetic antioxidants. Natural antioxidants in fruits, vegetables, and spices can be consumed, while synthetic antioxidants are produced in laboratories via chemical processes. This review focused on the sources, pharmacological properties, applications, and prospects of natural and synthetic antioxidants, as well as exogenous and endogenous antioxidants. A literature search was done using different search engines like Google Books, Science.gov, Microsoft Academic, Worldwide Science, ResearchGate, Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE), Medline, and PubMed Central. Different keywords, such as antioxidants, free radicals, oxidative stress, superoxide radicals, and oxygen radicals, were used. The relevant literature was collected and used in this review. Antioxidants inhibit oxidation and help to prevent non-communicable diseases, such as aging and inflammatory processes, tumors, kidney and liver diseases, coronary heart disease, cataracts, renal toxicity, and neurological diseases. It was found that antioxidants in the diet have the capacity to prevent oxidative anxiety-related disorders.