Potential applications of antioxidants - A review

Various abiotic stresses lead to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants and animals which are highly reactive and toxic causing damage to proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and DNA thus leads to oxidative stress. This oxidative stress causes damage to tissues and results in large number of diseases. Antioxidants neutralize the effects of ROS and thus help in preventing diseases. Antioxidants can be natural or synthetic. Natural antioxidants can be taken up through diet as they are present in fruits, vegetables and spices. There are also certain synthetic antioxidants like BHT and BHA that also inhibit oxidation. However, these synthetic antioxidants have now been reported to be dangerous to humans so the search for non-toxic antioxidants have intensified in the recent years.