Role of Antioxidants in Redox Homeostasis

Reactive oxygen species are a result of normal oxygen metabolism, which even possess the ability to damage the cells; and thus, it becomes necessary to eliminate them. Redox homeostasis is a natural mechanism that detoxifies these ROS and involves many cellular processes in the detoxification. However, the production of ROS increases dramatically during environmental stress, which can result in the disruption of redox homeostasis. This disruption can lead to several complications that include the generation of tumour cells, ageing, diabetes and neurodegeneration. Antioxidants can prevent this disruption by reducing the propagation of free radicals and thus, they have an important role to play in the process of redox homeostasis. The chapter highlights the role of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in redox homeostasis. Non-enzymatic antioxidants have been further divided into two categories namely, metabolic and nutritional antioxidants. The crucial role played by the antioxidants against ROS can be therefore used in therapeutics to treat the major diseases that are caused due to oxidative stress.

Keywords: Ascorbic Acid, Coenzyme Q10, Ebelsen, Haptoglobin, Lutein, MUA2, Quercetin, Rutin, SOD/CAT-Mimetic Drugs, TLK-199, Tocopherol.