Question

Not too long ago "free radicals" and quenching those "free radicals" was a big marketing push. We were told we needed to consume or apply antioxidants (in the marketed mixture of the day) in order to reverse or prevent free radical damage. Please post a short description of an example of where some free radicals might originate and a potential antioxidant quench to eliminate them. Don't forget to discuss HOW the antioxidant would quench those radicals.

Answer 1

Radicals ar enothing but ions with electron chares, they are not healthy (or considered) since they might react with plenty of other materia, causing diseas/cance or other type of degeneration for humans.

Vitamin C is a good example of a quenching antioxidant. What it does is simple:

IF a free radical atacks the vitamin C molecule (ascorbic acid) the electron is received by the acid, the acid then donates its H+ (proton) to the radical to form :

R* + H+ --> RH

and the ascorbic acid remains charged as a natural ion

the good thing about this charged ion, is that we have buffers, so it is perfectly normnal to have this charged moleucle in our body.

this is how the raidcals are eliminated from our body