Oxidants and antioxidant therapy

The oxidation of an organic compound in the presence of air or oxygen is called autoxidation. For example, cumene reacts with oxygen to form hydroperoxide. Autoxidation involves initiation, propagation, and termination steps. Many organic compounds are susceptible to autoxidation—especially ethers in the presence of oxygen, which form hydroperoxides. Even though this reaction is slow, old ether bottles contain small amounts of peroxide, which leads to laboratory explosions during ether...

In the presence of oxidizing agents, phenols are oxidized to quinones. Quinones can be easily reduced back to phenols using mild reducing agents. The electron-donating hydroxyl group enhances the reactivity of the aromatic ring, enabling oxidation of the ring even in the absence of an α hydrogen.
o-hydroxy phenols are oxidized to o-quinones and p-hydroxy phenols to p-quinones. Such redox reactions involve the transfer of two electrons and two protons. The reversible redox property is crucial in...

The mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) is the main energy generation system in the eukaryotic cells. However, mitochondria also produce cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to the large electron flow during oxidative phosphorylation. While Complex I is one of the primary sources of superoxide radicals, ROS production by Complex II is uncommon and may only be observed in cancer cells with mutated complexes.
ROS generation is regulated and maintained at moderate levels necessary...

Cancer therapies are various modes of treatment, such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy that are administered to cancer patients.
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...

Antidotes are medicinal substances used to counteract the harmful effects of toxins or drugs in the body. They function in various ways, each uniquely designed to combat specific toxic compounds.
Specific antidotes operate by inhibiting the enzymes that control biochemical pathways, reducing the production of harmful metabolites.
An example of an antidote is atropine, which counteracts the detrimental effects of cholinesterase inhibitors. It achieves this by deactivating muscarinic receptors,...

Phase I biotransformation, or functionalization, is a crucial chemical process that converts drugs and other xenobiotics into more water-soluble forms, facilitating expulsion from the body. It involves oxidative, reductive, and hydrolytic reactions that add or unveil polar functional groups on lipophilic substrates. Key players in phase I reactions are the mixed-function oxidases. Situated in liver cell microsomes, these enzymes predominantly carry out drug metabolism. They require molecular...