Rajendra Sapkota

Antioxidants and Its Effects: Gift of Nature Against Many Diseases Rajendra Sapkota

Antioxidants are chemical compounds that neutralize the effects of oxidation caused due to free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced during metabolic processes in living system. Antioxidants are an inhibitor of the process of oxidation, even at relatively small concentration and thus have diverse physiological role in the body. Antioxidant constituents of the plant material act as radical scavengers, and helps in converting the radicals to less reactive species. A variety of free radical scavenging antioxidants is found in dietary sources like fruits, vegetables and tea, etc. According to literature, these are "substance that when present in low concentration compared to those of the oxidisable substrates significantly delay or inhibit the oxidation of that substance. A free radical is any atom or molecule that has a single unpaired electron in an outer shell (for e.g OH. radical. Free radicals are very unstable molecules or atoms which react quickly with other compounds, trying to capture the needed electron to gain stability.