Cited by 75Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative StressRedox biology and oxidative stressPhytochemicals and Antioxidant Activities

Reflections of an aging free radical

Open access
Halliwell, Barry·2020·Free Radical Biology and Medicine

Abstract

In this mini-reflection, I explain how during my doctoral work in a Botany Department I first became interested in H 2 O 2 and later in my career in other reactive oxygen species, especially the role of "catalytic" iron and haem compounds (including leghaemoglobin) in promoting oxidative damage. The important roles that H 2 O 2, other ROS and dietary plants play in respect to humans are discussed. I also review the roles of diet-derived antioxidants in relation to human disease, presenting reasons why clinical trials using high doses of natural antioxidants have generally given disappointing results. Iron chelators and ergothioneine are reviewed as potential cytoprotective agents with antioxidant properties that may be useful therapeutically. The discovery of ferroptosis may also lead to novel agents that can be used to treat certain diseases.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2020.10.010

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  • Apart from vitamin E, other antioxidants such as carotenoids, ascorbic acid, and flavonoids have been shown to have a very mild effect on preventing oxidative damage.

    “With respect to antioxidant interventions, apart from vitamin E, other antioxidants such as carotenoids, ascorbic acid, and flavonoids have been shown to have a very mild effect on preventing oxidative damage (Halliwell 2020; Forman and Zhang 2021; Mangione et al. 2022).”

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Authors
Halliwell, B.
Affiliations
National University of Singapore (SG)
Corresponding author
Halliwell, Barry
Venue
Free Radical Biology and Medicine
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-12
Volume
161
Pages
234-245
ISSN
0891-5849 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3093319823
Cited by
75
References
171
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 10
FWCI
0.98
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Free Radical Biology and Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry › Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative Stress
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Redox biology and oxidative stress
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry › Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Activities
Keywords
hydrogen peroxide, reactive oxygen species, catalytic iron, leghemoglobin, oxidative damage, dietary antioxidants, clinical trial failure, iron chelators, ergothioneine, ferroptosis, cytoprotective agents
MeSH terms
Aging, Antioxidants, Free Radicals, Humans, Hydrogen Peroxide, Reactive Oxygen Species, Oxidative Stress

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