Antioxidant what does it mean? (English)

Today everyone is talking about antioxidants. Some consider them a powerful weapon against aging, others consider them a deception of pharmacists, and still others consider them a potential catalyst for cancer. So is it worth taking antioxidants? What are these substances for? What drugs can they be obtained from? We will talk about this in the article.

Concept

Four groups of substances

Currently, more than three thousand antioxidants are already known, and their number continues to increase. All of them are divided into four groups:

Vitamins. They are water-soluble and fat-soluble. The former protect blood vessels, ligaments, muscles, and the latter – adipose tissue. Beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin E are antioxidants, the most powerful among fat-soluble ones, and vitamin C and B-group vitamins are among water-soluble ones.
Bioflavonoids. They act as a trap for free radicals, suppress their formation and help remove toxins. Bioflavonoids mainly include catechins found in red wine and quercetin, which is found in green tea and citrus fruits.
Enzymes. They play the role of catalysts: they increase the rate of neutralization of free radicals. Produced by the body. You can additionally obtain these antioxidants from the outside. Drugs, such as, for example, Coenzyme Q10, will compensate for the lack of enzymes.
Minerals. They are not produced in the body; they can only be obtained from the outside. The most powerful antioxidants in this group are calcium, manganese, selenium, and zinc.

Antioxidants (drugs): classification

All antioxidants, which are medicinal in origin, are divided into preparations of unsaturated fatty acids; preparations of proteins, amino and nucleic acids that react with free radical oxidation products; vitamins, flavonoids, hormones and microelements. Let's tell you more about them.

Substrates for free radical oxidation

This is the name for preparations of unsaturated fatty acids that contain omega-3 acids. These include Epadol, Vitrum Cardio, Tecom, Omacor, and fish oil. The main omega-3-polyunsaturated acids - decosohexanoic and eicosapentaenoic acids - when introduced externally into the body, restore their normal ratio. We list the strongest antioxidants in this group below.

1. The drug "Essentiale"

This is a complex product containing, in addition to phospholipids, vitamins with antihypoxic (nicotinamide, thiamine, pyridoxine, riboflavin) and antioxidant (cyanocobalamin, tocopherol) properties. The drug is used in pulmonology, obstetrics, hepatology, cardiology, and ophthalmology.

2. Lipin product

It is an antihypoxant and a natural powerful antioxidant that restores the functional activity of the endothelium, has immunomodulatory, membrane-protective properties, supports the body's antioxidant system, and has a positive effect on the synthesis of surfactant and pulmonary ventilation.

3. Medicines "Espa-Lipon" and "Berlition"

These antioxidants (thioctic acid preparations) reduce blood glucose levels during hyperglycemia. Thioctic acid is a vitamin-like substance that is endogenously formed in the body and participates as a coenzyme in the decarboxylation of α-keto acids. The drug "Berlition" is prescribed for diabetic neuropathy. And the drug "Espa-Lipon", which is, among other things, a hypolipidemic agent, a hepatoprotector and a detoxicant, is used for intoxication with xenobiotics.

Preparations of peptides, nucleic acids and amino acids

Drugs in this group can be used both in mono- and complex therapy. Among them, we can separately note glutamic acid, which, along with the ability to remove ammonia, stimulate energy-producing and redox processes, and activate the synthesis of acetylcholine, can also have a significant antioxidant effect. This acid is indicated for psychosis, mental exhaustion, epilepsy, and reactive depression. Below we will consider the most powerful antioxidants of natural origin.

1. Glutargin product

This drug contains glutamic acid and arginine. It produces a hypoammonemic effect, has antihypoxic, membrane-stabilizing, antioxidant, hepato- and cardioprotective activity. It is used for hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, to prevent alcohol intoxication, and to eliminate hangover syndrome.

2. Medicines “Panangin” and “Asparkam”

These antioxidants (aspartic acid preparations) stimulate the formation of ATP, oxidative phosphorylation, improve motility of the digestive tract and skeletal muscle tone. These medications are prescribed for cardiosclerosis, arrhythmias accompanied by hypokalemia, angina pectoris, and myocardial dystrophy.

3. Drugs "Dibikor" and "Kratal"

These products contain taurine, an amino acid that has stress-protective, neurotransmitter, cardioprotective, hypoglycemic properties and regulates the release of prolactin and adrenaline. Preparations containing taurine are the best antioxidants that protect lung tissue from damage by irritants. In combination with other medications, it is recommended to use Dibikor for diabetes mellitus and heart failure. The drug "Kratal" is used for VSD, vegetative neuroses, and post-radiation syndrome.

4. Medication "Cerebrolysin"

The medicine includes as an active ingredient a hydrolyzate of a substance from pig brain, freed from protein, containing amino acids and a complex of peptides. The drug reduces the lactate content in brain tissue, maintains calcium homeostasis, stabilizes cell membranes, and reduces the neurotoxic effect of excitatory amino acids. This is a very powerful antioxidant, which is prescribed for stroke, endogenous depression, and cerebrovascular pathologies.

5. Medicine "Cerebrocurin"

This drug contains peptides, amino acids, and low molecular weight proteolysis products. It produces antioxidant, protein-synthesizing, energy-producing effects. The drug "Cerebrocurin" is used for diseases associated with disruption of the central nervous system, as well as in ophthalmology for pathologies such as diabetic retinopathy, senile macular degeneration.

6. The drug "Actovegin"

This medicine is a highly purified blood hemodialysate. It contains nucleosides, oligopeptides, intermediate products of fat and carbohydrate metabolism, due to which it enhances oxidative phosphorylation, the exchange of high-energy phosphates, increases the influx of potassium, and alkaline phosphatase activity. The drug exhibits a strong antioxidant effect and is used for organic lesions of the eyes, central nervous system, for faster regeneration of mucous membranes and skin in case of burns and wounds.

Bioantioxidants

This group includes vitamin preparations, flavonoids, and hormones. Non-coenzyme vitamin preparations that simultaneously have both antioxidant and antihypoxic properties include Coenzyme Q10, Riboxin, and Koragin. We will describe other antioxidants in tablets and other dosage forms below.

1. Medicine "Energostim"

This is a combined product, in addition to inozyme, containing nicotinamide dinucleotide and cytochrome C. Thanks to the composite composition, the drug “Energostim” exhibits complementary antioxidant and antihypoxic properties. The medicine is used for myocardial infarction, alcoholic hepatosis, myocardial dystrophy, hypoxia of brain cells

2. Vitamin preparations

As already noted, water- and fat-soluble vitamins exhibit pronounced antioxidant activity. Fat-soluble products include Tocopherol, Retinol and other medications containing carotenoids. Of the water-soluble vitamin preparations, nicotinic and ascorbic acids, Nicotinamide, Cyanocobalamin, Rutin, and Quercetin have the greatest antioxidant potential.

3. The drug "Cardonat"

Includes pyridoxal phosphate, lysine hydrochloride, carnitine chloride, cocarboxylase chloride. These components take part in the oxidation of fatty acids to acetyl-CoA. The medication activates the processes of growth and assimilation, produces anabolic hepato-, neuro-, cardioprotective effects, and significantly increases physical and intellectual performance.

4. Flavonoids

Preparations containing flavonoids include tinctures of hawthorn, echinacea, motherwort, and rosea radiola. These agents, in addition to antioxidant properties, also have immunomodulatory and hepatoprotective properties. Antioxidants are sea buckthorn oil, which contains unsaturated fatty acids, and domestic herbal medicines produced in the form of drops: “Cardioton”, “Cardiofit”. Hawthorn tincture should be taken for functional heart disorders, motherwort tincture as a sedative, and rosea and echinacea tinctures as a general tonic. Sea buckthorn oil is indicated for peptic ulcers, prostatitis, and hepatitis.

5. Vitrum antioxidant product

This is a complex of minerals and vitamins that exhibits pronounced antioxidant activity. The drug at the cellular level protects the body from the destructive effects of free radicals. The Vitrum Antioxidant product contains vitamins A, E, C, as well as microelements: manganese, selenium, copper, zinc. The vitamin-mineral complex is taken to prevent hypovitaminosis, to increase the body's resistance to infections and colds, after treatment with antibacterial agents.

Finally

Antioxidants in the form of medications should be used by people after the age of forty, heavy smokers, those who often eat fast food, as well as people working in poor environmental conditions. For patients who have recently had cancer or are at high risk of developing it, taking such drugs is contraindicated. And remember: it is better to get antioxidants from natural products, not from medications!

Antioxidants are unique substances necessary for the human body. They have the ability to resist oxidant molecules, neutralizing their negative effects. Contains substances in special preparations or food products.

What are antioxidants for?

Beneficial substances - antioxidants - contribute to the accelerated restoration of cells destroyed as a result of the negative effects of free radicals. Few people know why antioxidants are needed, but they only have a positive effect on the human body:

This is a unique natural and completely natural antioxidant that helps restore tissues and cells damaged by free radicals.
The process of photoaging slows down, cells are reliably protected from damage by ultraviolet rays.
The main positive property is that the inflammatory reaction that appears during prolonged exposure to the sun is minimized.
The activity of aging processes decreases.
The free radical is neutralized and the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in cell membranes is stopped.
Another useful property is that the risk of developing cancer is minimized.

Impact of free radicals on the body

Free radicals are molecules that have the ability to gain another electron. The molecule has one unpaired electron, so it easily enters into chemical reactions that fill existing voids. As a result of attachment, the molecule becomes completely safe. Chemical reactions provoked by free radicals have a certain effect on the human body.

If the amount of these molecules is within normal limits, the immune system can control them. A substance such as an antioxidant will help prevent oxidation in the body. Free radicals control the following functions:

activation of certain enzymes;
the process of destruction of bacteria and viruses;
hormone production;
energy production.

As the number of free radicals increases, these molecules become more actively produced, which causes serious harm to the body. A change in the structure of proteins begins, a method for encoding genetic information and transmitting it from cell to cell. The human immune system perceives pathologically altered proteins as foreign material and begins to destroy them. With heavy stress, immunity drops, and serious illness (kidney, heart failure) or oncology can develop.

What are antioxidants

Molecules that have a negatively charged electron are antioxidant substances. They have great benefits, because they help prevent the development of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, help remove toxins from the body, and speed up the healing process. Oxidants and antioxidants must be present in the human body, because they ensure its functioning.

Almost every product includes a unique antioxidant. Doctors advise eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Any natural antioxidant neutralizes the harmful effects of the environment (smoky streets, ultraviolet radiation, frequent stress) and bad habits (smoking, alcohol abuse) on the body. They are used to slow down the aging process of the body.

How often do we hear that people absolutely need certain mysterious antioxidant substances to improve health, prolong youth and longevity. And I really want to find out more precisely: an antioxidant - what it is, what preparations it contains, what it is eaten with, both literally and figuratively, what it opposes (after all, as you know, the prefix “anti” means “against”) . This topic is very relevant, because today a healthy lifestyle is in trend. We invite our readers to look into the questions that have arisen in more detail.

Oxidant and antioxidant - what are they?

Our entire world is built on the unity and struggle of opposites: if there is a plus, then there must certainly be a minus nearby, light lives side by side with darkness, etc. And it would be logical to assume that since antioxidants exist in the world, this means that they are inextricably linked with something directly opposite, that is, with oxidants. And what binds this couple is nothing more than the constant struggle of the former with the latter.

After a lyrical digression, let's plunge into dry scientific facts. Research has long proven that so-called free radicals (oxidants) are indispensable participants in the metabolic processes of our body - these are not substances, as many mistakenly believe, but molecules - much smaller matter. Each oxidant has a free unpaired electron. And it is this property that gives them high chemical activity.

Oxidants themselves are neither harmful nor bad; they are needed by the body and actively participate in its work. But under the influence of certain factors (disease, poor environment, stress, unhealthy diet, smoking, etc.), their number begins to grow uncontrollably, and these extra, chemically active molecules begin to destroy healthy cells and tissues; harmful oxidative processes begin to occur. To resist destruction, we need antioxidant substances that can neutralize the effects of harmful molecules.

What are antioxidants?

Our smart body knows how to produce its own internal antioxidants. Many healthy foods also contain them, so by eating healthy foods we help the body fight oxidants. In childhood and adolescence, a lot of antioxidants are produced, but over time their deficiency begins to increase more and more, which negatively affects health: a person gets sick more and more often, and the aging process increases faster.

But we can help our body by supplying it with vital substances from the outside not only with food, but also with various medications and vitamins. Summarizing what has been said, we conclude that antioxidants can be internal and external (food, various vitamins, drugs). It is the second group that we will consider in more detail in the future.

How do antioxidant substances act on the human body?

There are antioxidants - drugs that are very expensive, and yet people spare no expense in purchasing them. This happens because these substances can literally transform our body, both inside and outside, and even at a very old age. Here is a list of what happens to the body due to the activity of antioxidants:

Immunity is strengthened.
The formation of altered cells is prevented and tumor growth is inhibited.
Collagen is restored.
Rejuvenation processes are launched, etc.

Cure for old age

To the question: “Antioxidant - what is it?” You can give a completely reasonable answer that this is a cure for old age. It is believed that increased levels of such substances in the body can directly affect the increase in life expectancy. This conclusion was made after an experiment by US scientists conducted on mice. Animals in which increased production of internal antioxidant enzymes was stimulated lived much longer than other animals and suffered much less illness. If the same thing works for humans, then this means that the average life expectancy of people could increase to 100 years.

Indeed, there are research results that confirm that taking antioxidant drugs in old age greatly reduces the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and reduces the risk of heart and vascular diseases. In general, people who took antioxidant supplements along with a healthy diet began to feel much better, more active and younger.

List of the most famous antioxidants

From the group of vitamins:

Tocopherol - vitamin E - is an antioxidant that counteracts the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in cell membranes by radicals.
Vitamin C. Actively neutralizes oxidants and at the same time restores vitamin E used up in the fight against them.
A (carotene).

C, E and A are antioxidant vitamins that make up a very strong combination; they can multiply the effect of each other.

There are some plants and foods that are considered antioxidants in their own right. These include:

Green tea.
Ginseng.
Blueberry.
Grape.
Medicinal mushrooms (meitake, veselka, shiitake, cordyceps, reishi).

What foods contain a lot of antioxidants?

The substances of interest to us are most abundant in foods such as fruits, berries and vegetables (fresh, of course), as well as in a number of oils and nuts, but not in all, but only in those presented in the following lists:

1. Fruits and berries:

Plums.
Chokeberry.
Citrus.
Grenades.
Black currant.
Cranberry.
Blueberry.
Cherry.
Blackberry.

Radish.
Broccoli.
Eggplant.
Garlic and onion.
Beet.
Spinach and asparagus.
Beans.
Radish and turnip.
Carrot.

Palm.
Milk thistle.
Wheat germ.
Corn.

You can't ignore some spices and herbs: oregano, parsley, cinnamon, turmeric and cloves - they are all excellent antioxidants. Preparations containing these herbal components are often found and are in good demand.

Vitamin and mineral complexes

The nutrition of modern man is far from ideal; most people today live in cities; He picks up vegetables and fruits not from the garden beds, but from store shelves, sometimes not of the first freshness. Such products lack valuable nutrients. To make up for their deficiency, you have to go to the pharmacy and buy various mineral complexes and antioxidant vitamins.

Fortunately, the choice of such drugs is very large, even the eyes run wide from the beautiful multi-colored boxes with useful tablets and capsules inside. Moreover, it is very convenient that in many such health products the necessary minerals and vitamins are combined together. That is, just as it happens in nature. Here is an approximate range of what can be freely purchased in the pharmacy chain today:

"Selmevit".
"Vitrum Memory".
"Selenium-active".
"Retinol acetate".
"Complete selenium."
"Selmevit intensive"
"Vitamin E Zentiva"
"Oxylic".
"Glutathione."
"Doppelgerts asset"
"Vetoron".
"Triovit".
"Sinergin".
"Reabilar" and others.

I would like to say a few separate words about “Complivit” - an antioxidant that is in constant demand. A small tablet of the drug contains about 19 essential elements for humans, including minerals: magnesium, zinc, cobalt, copper, calcium, manganese; vitamins E, B1, C, B2, A, B12, PP, B5, P, B6, folic acid and thioctic (lipolyic acid). We can say that this is an ideal composition for a vitamin-mineral complex that can fully satisfy all the body’s needs.

Antioxidant drugs

Even taking good vitamin complexes and trying to eat only healthy foods, people, without knowing it, may experience an acute lack of substances in the body that fight free radicals. This is especially true for those who work in some hazardous industry, heavy smokers or residents of areas with poor ecology. In this case, you can call on the following drugs to help:

"Coenzyme Q10" - strengthens defenses, removes oxidants, activates blood circulation, and inhibits the aging process.
"Lipin" is an immunomodulator that supports high activity of the antioxidant system.
"Debicor" and "Kratal" are two very important amino acids that help the body establish many processes.
"Panangin" and "Asparkam" - effectively improve the functions of the heart and blood vessels, stimulate the formation of ATP, activate intestinal motility, and tone skeletal muscles.
"Omacor", "Epadol", "Tecom" and others - are engaged in restoring the balance of polyunsaturated acids in the body.

What to choose

So which antioxidants should you choose? Reviews and recommendations from doctors about various products should help you make your choice. It is especially important for people who have serious health problems to discuss with their doctor which drug to start taking.

Antioxidant cosmetic creams against skin aging

Today, many women try to be sure to use some good antioxidant cream to maintain the beauty and freshness of their skin. Indeed, such external cosmetics can amazingly transform one’s appearance: smooth out wrinkles, improve complexion, even out skin texture, make the skin radiant and youthful. The main rule: to achieve the desired effect, you need to use this cream for at least 30 days.

The best cosmetic anti-aging products contain a whole complex of different antioxidant substances that can stimulate each other’s action. And the presence in the formula of the famous trinity - vitamins A, B and C is almost mandatory. And then each manufacturing company develops its own special compositions and recipes. Various extracts of natural oxidant plants, fruits, oils can be added to the cream: green tea, grapes, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, horse chestnut, rosemary, witch hazel, sea buckthorn, peach, sesame, just too many to list. Coenzyme Q10 is also a common ingredient in antioxidant skin care products.

Creams with antioxidant complexes are available for different skin types, so any woman can choose the most suitable product. But there is one secret in using such cosmetics: you should not abuse it. Sometimes people believe that since antioxidants are so beneficial, then if they smear themselves with a cream that contains them morning, noon and evening, and apply more of it to the skin, this will speed up the rejuvenation process. In fact, it turns out the opposite: the natural balance of the skin is disrupted and this does not lead to anything good.

Final word

Our review on the topic: “Antioxidant - what is it” has come to an end. We hope we were able to convey the information in an intelligible form. The drugs we were talking about are not medicines in the full sense of the word. You can probably live without them, but with them, the cure for most diseases occurs much faster, and the quality of life of even healthy and young people improves much, thanks to the surge of energy that they will receive. Whatever you choose for yourself, be it preparations with coenzyme Q10, the Complivit mineral complex, antioxidants of youth hidden in tubes of cream, it should certainly be beneficial, because such a choice in itself means an interest in strengthening your own health .

Antioxidant what does it mean? (English)

Antioxidant what does it mean?