Free Radicals: Health Implications and their Mitigation by Herbals
Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research · pp. 438–457 · Published 27 Feb 2015
10.9734/BJMMR/2015/16284Abstract
Free radicals pose a serious threat to tissues and vital organs, especially membrane lipids, proteins and nucleic acids of cells. Overproduction of reactive oxygen/ nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) and other related radicals lead to oxidative stress which has been implicated in aging and a number of diseases. Free radicals react with biomolecules and cause lipid peroxidation, loss of enzyme activity, mutation and carcinogenesis. A number of degenerative diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and adverse hepatic conditions have been attributed to accumulation of free radicals. Diseases resulting from radical overload might also lead to different types of cancers. However free radicals at low or moderate levels are vital to human health. ROS and RNS produced in a well regulated manner help maintain homeostasis at the cellular level in the normal healthy tissues and play an important role as signaling molecules. Cellular antioxidant enzyme systems including superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidases/reductase, peroxiredoxins along with non enzymatic antioxidants viz., tocopherols, vitamin C and glutathione etc., apart from several dietary components protect cells and organisms from the lethal effects of excessive ROS production. Natural products of plant origin have been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of diseases resulting from radical overload. The diversity of phytochemicals such as polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenes and saponins etc. present in plants and dietary components provide drug leads for the development of novel therapeutic agents. This review deals with the components of free radical biology, their adverse consequences in humans and amelioration of diseases by botanical therapeutics.
Cited by 101
Cheppail Ramachandran, Barry Wilk, Steven J. Melnick · Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine · 2017
Jennifer Amo‐Mensah, Abdul Nasir Abdullah, Micheal Konney Laryea · ChemistrySelect · 2026
Burak Ayık, Buğrahan Emsen, Muhammet Doğan · Anatolian Journal of Botany · 2025
Bimala Tripathy, Gyanendra Narayan Mohapatra, B.V.V. Ravi Kumar · Current Nutrition & Food Science · 2022
Deepika Bairagee, Pankaj S. Patel, Joohee Pradhan · Pharmacological Research - Natural Products · 2025
Y.Q. Xu, Y.Y. Xing, Z.Q. Wang · Cell Stress and Chaperones · 2018
Roberto Arrigoni, Francesco Cammarota, Rosa Porro · Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders - Drug Targets · 2023
Aanchal Verma, Ahsas Goyal · Pharmacological Research - Modern Chinese Medicine · 2024
Pura Ballester, Begoña Cerdá, Raúl Arcusa · Molecules · 2023
Sakshi Bajaj, Supriya Singh, Prateek Sharma · Nutraceutical Fruits and Foods for Neurodegenerative Disorders · 2024
Showing 20 of 101 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.
Related research
- First Trimester Fasting Blood Glucose as a Screening Tool for Diabetes Mellitus in a Teaching Hospital Setting in Nigeria — shares topic coverage
- Impact of the Diet Profile and Alcohol Consumption on Cardiometabolic Risks in Dschang Health District-Cameroon — shares topic coverage
- Effect of Aqueous Extract of Persea americana Seed on Blood Glucose in Alloxan-induced Diabetic Wistar Rats — shares topic coverage
- Metal Based α-glucosidase Inhibitors: Synthesis, Characterization and α-glucosidase Inhibition Activity of Transition Metal Complexes — shares topic coverage
- Evaluation of Fluid Therapy by Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Hyperglycemic Emergencies — shares topic coverage
Article metrics
Real usage data collected on this platform.
52
Page views
0
PDF downloads
4
Outbound clicks
101
Citations
Views over time
Views by country
Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".
Traffic sources
Referring site, by host.
Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.