Abstract
Cells generate unpaired electrons, typically via oxygen- or nitrogen-based by-products during normal cellular respiration and under stressed situations. These pro-oxidant molecules are highly unstable and may oxidize surrounding cellular macromolecules. Under normal conditions, the reactive oxygen or nitrogen species can be beneficial to cell survival and function by destroying and degrading pathogens or antigens. However, excessive generation and accumulation of the reactive pro-oxidant species over time can damage proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids. Over time, this oxidative stress can contribute to a range of aging-related degenerative diseases such as cancer, diabetes, macular degeneration, and Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s diseases. It is well accepted that natural compounds, including vitamins A, C, and E, β-carotene, and minerals found in fruits and vegetables are powerful anti-oxidants that offer health benefits against several different oxidative stress induced degenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). There is increasing interest in developing anti-oxidative therapeutics to prevent AD. There are contradictory and inconsistent reports on the possible benefits of anti-oxidative supplements; however, fruits and vegetables enriched with multiple anti-oxidants (e.g., flavonoids and polyphenols) and minerals may be highly effective in attenuating the harmful effects of oxidative stress. As the physiological activation of either protective or destructive pro-oxidant behavior remains relatively unclear, it is not straightforward to relate the efficacy of dietary anti-oxidants in disease prevention. Here, we review oxidative stress mediated toxicity associated with AD and highlight the modulatory roles of natural dietary anti-oxidants in preventing AD.
Highlights
Structural damage and the associated deregulation of protein, lipid, and DNA homeostasis are oxidative stress induced events/cascades linked to many degenerative diseases [1,10,39,49,99]
Anti-oxidants that neutralize the effects of oxidative stress are promising therapeutics to prevent Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and various degenerative diseases
It is possible that dietary dosage formulations even consume the moderate levels of pro-oxidants that are necessary for maintaining healthy cellular defense and signaling
Summary
An uncontrolled production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species damages cellular proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids through oxidative stress, contributing to cell degeneration during aging [3,5,9,10,11,12,13]. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) are short-lived, but uncontrolled redox reactions continuously generate new ROS and RNS, and are believed to contribute to the onset of various degenerative diseases including cancer, diabetes, age-related macular degenerations, and Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s diseases [1,5,8,14,15,16]. Pro-oxidant ROS and RNS molecules are continuously produced in the cells throughout life. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interluekin-1 and interferon-γ produce large amounts of reactive nitric oxide by inducing nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) [6,24,27,28,29]
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