Antioxidants

Research Overview

The generation of oxygen free radicals during cellular metabolism and by certain environmental factors, including lifestyle, appear to play a critical role in the aging process. High dietary intakes of antioxidant vitamins and phytochemicals are associated with better maintenance of physiologic function and a lower prevalence of many degenerative conditions in older adults. Understanding how antioxidants, especially the phytochemical carotenoids and flavonoids, reduce oxidative stress and impact the pathogenesis of chronic disease present opportunities for health promotion and alternative therapeutic modalities for an aging population.

The Antioxidants Research Laboratory conducts studies to understand the role of dietary antioxidants, particularly the flavonoids in conjunction with vitamins C and E, on free radical reactions and changes in oxidative stress status during aging. Lipid, protein, nucleic acid and other cellular targets of oxidative damage are assessed in experimental models and in healthy and other human populations to elucidate antioxidant requirements for optimal health. These projects contribute to the description and prediction of the impact of antioxidants and oxyradicals on age-related changes in nutrient requirements and chronic degenerative conditions.

Capabilities

The ARL employs a variety of methods, particularly HPLC-ECD and LC-MS/MS to determine antioxidant defenses and biomarkers of oxidative stress in vitro and in vivo including antioxidant nutrients (ascorbate and tocopherols) and phytochemicals (carotenoids and flavonoids), measures of "total antioxidant capacity" (FRAP, ORAC) and products of DNA (8-OHdG), lipid (isoprostanes), and protein (carbonyls) oxidation.

Learn More

For more information about the Antioxidants Research Laboratory, please visit the USDA, Agricultural Research Service.

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