Review on antioxidants and evaluation procedures

Antioxidants are the substances that are capable of counteracting the damaging effects of the physiological process of oxidation occur in animal tissues. These may be nutrients (vitamins and minerals) as well as enzymes (proteins) in our body that assist in chemical reactions. They are believed to play a role in preventing the development of chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and cataracts etc. The present review article emphasizes on the various aspects of oxidants and antioxidants viz. definition, types, causes, mechanism, functions, adverse effects along with various in vivo and in vitro models of evaluation of antioxidant activity of new molecule, compounds or any plant or plant part. This review is one of its kinds which will be of great importance for researchers working in this area in search of antioxidant moieties and their biological evaluation.