Antioxidants
Table of Contents
An antioxidant is a molecule stable enough to donate an electron to a rampaging free radical and neutralize it, thus reducing its capacity to damage. These antioxidants delay or inhibit cellular damage mainly through their free radical scavenging property.These low-molecular-weight antioxidants can safely interact with free radicals and terminate the chain reaction before vital molecules are damaged. Some of such antioxidants, including glutathione, ubiquinol, and uric acid, are produced during normal metabolism in the body. Other lighter antioxidants are found in the diet. Although there are several enzymes system within the body that scavenge free radicals, the principle micronutrient (vitamins) antioxidants are vitamin E (α-tocopherol), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), and B-carotene. The body cannot manufacture these micronutrients, so they must be supplied in the diet.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3249911/
Anitoxidants, Foods and Body
This is a list of antioxidants naturally occurring in food. Vitamin C and vitamin E – which are ubiquitous among raw plant foods, they are confirmed as dietary antioxidants, whereas vitamin A becomes an antioxidant following metabolism of provitamin A beta-carotene and cryptoxanthin. Most food compounds listed as antioxidants – such as polyphenols common in colorful, edible plants
List of Antioxidants
Vitamins with antioxidant function
- Vitamin A (retinol), also synthesized by the body from beta-carotene, protects dark green, yellow and orange vegetables and fruits from solar radiation damage, and is thought to play a similar role in the human body. Carrots, squash, broccoli, sweet potatoes, tomatoes (which gain their color from the compound lycopene), kale, mangoes, oranges, seabuckthorn berries, wolfberries (goji), collards, cantaloupe, peaches and apricots are particularly rich sources of beta-carotene, the major provitamin A carotenoid.
- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a water-soluble compound that fulfills several roles in living systems. Sources include citrus fruits (such as oranges, sweet lime, etc.), green peppers, broccoli, green leafy vegetables, black currants, strawberries, blueberries, seabuckthorn, raw cabbage and tomatoes.
- Vitamin E, including tocotrienol and tocopherol, is fat soluble and protects lipids. Sources include wheat germ, seabuckthorn, nuts, seeds, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, kiwifruit, vegetable oil, and fish-liver oil. Alpha-tocopherol is the main form in which vitamin E is consumed. Recent studies showed that some tocotrienol isomers have significant anti-oxidant properties.
Vitamin cofactors and minerals
Many vitamins are cofactors which help enzymes to catalyze reactions, such as the production of important proteins. Vitamin C, is a cofactor for the production of the connective tissue collagen.
- Coenzyme Q10 – Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is an antioxidant that your body produces naturally. Your cells use CoQ10 for growth and maintenance. CoQ10 is found in meat, fish and whole grains.
- Manganese, particularly when in its +2 valence state as part of the enzyme called superoxide dismutase (SOD). It is a powerful antioxidant that seeks out the free radicals in the human body. A number of manganese-activated enzymes play important roles in the metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids, and cholesterol (4). Rich sources of manganese include whole grains, nuts, leafy vegetables, and teas. – Foods high in phytic acid, such as beans, seeds, nuts, whole grains, and soy products, or foods high in oxalic acid, such as cabbage, spinach, and sweet potatoes, may slightly inhibit manganese absorption. Although teas are rich sources of manganese, the tannins present in tea may moderately reduce the absorption of manganese. Intake of other minerals, including iron, calcium, and phosphorus, have been found to limit retention of manganese.
- Iodide, In addition to being a component of the thyroid hormone, iodine can be an antioxidant as well as an antiproliferative and differentiation agent that helps to maintain the integrity of several organs with the ability to take up iodine. Iodine is an essential nutrient. The most common forms of iodine in a diet are iodide and iodate, with additional iodo-organic compounds providing a small fraction of bioavailable iodine. It is found maily in seawater, seafood, and iodine-enriched food, such as iodized table salt.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-coenzyme-q10/art-20362602
https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/minerals/manganese
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3752513/
Hormones
- Melatonin, is a major scavenger of both oxygen- and nitrogen-based reactive molecules. It has scavenging actions at both physiologic and pharmacologic concentrations. Not only melatonin but also several of its metabolites can detoxify free radicals and their derivatives and aid in raising Glutathione levels. it is abundant in Tart Cherries, Walnuts, Mustard seed, Ginger root, Corn and many more
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2582546/
http://www.immunehealthscience.com/foods-with-melatonin.html
Carotenoid terpenoids
- Alpha-carotene – found in carrots, winter squash, tomatoes, green beans, cilantro, Swiss chard
- Astaxanthin – found naturally in red algae and animals higher in the marine food chain. It is a red pigment familiarly recognized in crustacean shells and salmon flesh/roe.
- Beta-carotene – found in high concentrations in butternut squash, carrots, orange bell peppers, pumpkins, kale, peaches, apricots, mango, turnip greens, broccoli, spinach, and sweet potatoes.
- Canthaxanthin
- Cryptoxanthin – present in papaya, egg yolk, butter, apples
- Lutein – found in high concentration in spinach, kale, Swiss chard, collard greens, beet and mustard greens, endive, red pepper and okra
- Lycopene – found in high concentration in cooked red tomato products like canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato juice and garden cocktails, guava and watermelons.
- Zeaxanthin – best sources are kale, collard greens, spinach, turnip greens, Swiss chard, mustard and beet greens, corn, and broccoli
Natural phenols
Natural phenols are a class of molecules found in abundance in plants.
Flavonoids
Flavonoids, a subset of polyphenol antioxidants, are present in many berries, as well as in coffee and tea.
- Flavones:
- Flavonols:
- Isorhamnetin
- Kaempferol
- Myricetin – walnuts are a rich source
- Proanthocyanidins, or condensed tannins
- Quercetin and related, such as rutin
- Flavanones:
- Eriodictyol
- Hesperetin (metabolizes to hesperidin)
- Naringenin (metabolized from naringin)
- Flavanols and their polymers:
- Catechin, gallocatechin and their corresponding gallate esters
- Epicatechin, epigallocatechin and their corresponding gallate esters
- Theaflavin its gallate esters
- Thearubigins
- Isoflavone phytoestrogens – found primarily in soy, peanuts, and other members of the family Fabaceae
- Stilbenoids:
- Resveratrol – found in the skins of dark-colored grapes, and concentrated in red wine.
- Pterostilbene – methoxylated analogue of resveratrol, abundant in Vaccinium berries
- Anthocyanins
Phenolic acids and their esters
- Chicoric acid – another caffeic acid derivative, is found in chicory and Echinacea.
- Chlorogenic acid – found in high concentration in coffee (more concentrated in robusta than arabica beans), blueberries and tomatoes. Produced from esterification of caffeic acid.
- Cinnamic acid and its derivatives, such as ferulic acid – found in seeds of plants such as in brown rice, whole wheat and oats, as well as in coffee, apple, artichoke, peanut, orange and pineapple.
- Ellagic acid – found in high concentration in raspberry and strawberry, and in ester form in red wine tannins.
- Ellagitannins – hydrolyzable tannin polymer formed when ellagic acid, a polyphenol monomer, esterifies and binds with the hydroxyl group of a polyol carbohydrate such as glucose.
- Gallic acid – found in gallnuts, sumac, witch hazel, tea leaves, oak bark, and many other plants.
- Gallotannins – hydrolyzable tannin polymer formed when gallic acid, a polyphenol monomer, esterifies and binds with the hydroxyl group of a polyol carbohydrate such as glucose.
- Rosmarinic acid – found in high concentration in rosemary, oregano, lemon balm, sage, and marjoram.
- Salicylic acid – found in most vegetables, fruits, and herbs; but most abundantly in the bark of willow trees, from where it was extracted for use in the early manufacture of aspirin.
Other nonflavonoid phenolics
- Curcumin – Curcumin has low bioavailability, because, much of it is excreted through glucuronidation. However, bioavailability is substantially enhanced by solubilization in a lipid (oil or lecithin), heat,[10] addition of piperine, or through nanoparticularization.
- Flavonolignans – e.g. silymarin – a mixture of flavonolignans extracted from milk thistle.
- Xanthones – mangosteen is purported to contain a large variety of xanthones,[11] but some of the xanthones like mangostin might be present only in the inedible shell.
- Eugenol
Main Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_antioxidants_in_food
Examples of bioactive antioxidant compounds
Antioxidants are classified into two broad divisions, depending on whether they are soluble in water (hydrophilic) or in lipids (lipophilic). In general, water-soluble antioxidants react with oxidants in the cell cytosol and the blood plasma, while lipid-soluble antioxidants protect cell membranes from lipid peroxidation.[31] These compounds may be synthesized in the body or obtained from the diet.[32] The different antioxidants are present at a wide range of concentrations in body fluids and tissues, with some such as glutathione or ubiquinone mostly present within cells, while others such as uric acid are more evenly distributed (see table below). Some antioxidants are only found in a few organisms and these compounds can be important in pathogens and can be virulence factors.[50]
The relative importance and interactions between these different antioxidants is a very complex question, with the various antioxidant compounds and antioxidant enzyme systems having synergistic and interdependent effects on one another
| Antioxidant | Solubility |
|---|---|
| Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) | Water |
| Glutathione ( built of amino acids: glutamate, glycine and cysteine) | Water |
| Lipoic acid (octanoic acid is the Precursor) | Water |
| Uric acid (is produced by the enzyme xanthine oxidase) | Water |
| Carotenes (Orange Foods; Carrots, Pumpkin, Cantaloupe, Mango) | Lipid |
| α-Tocopherol (vitamin E) | Lipid |
| Ubiquinol (coenzyme Q) | Lipid |
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioxidant#Examples_of_bioactive_antioxidant_compounds