Abstract
There is currently no doubt about the serious threat that oxidative stress (OS) poses to human health. Therefore, a crucial strategy to maintain a good health status is to identify molecules capable of offering protection against OS through chemical routes. Based on the known efficiency of the phenolic and melatonin (MLT) families of compounds as antioxidants, it is logical to assume that phenolic MLT-related compounds should be (at least) equally efficient. Unfortunately, they have been less investigated than phenols, MLT and its non-phenolic metabolites in this context. The evidence reviewed here strongly suggests that MLT phenolic derivatives can act as both primary and secondary antioxidants, exerting their protection through diverse chemical routes. They all seem to be better free radical scavengers than MLT and Trolox, while some of them also surpass ascorbic acid and resveratrol. However, there are still many aspects that deserve further investigations for this kind of compounds.
Highlights
Aerobic organisms are bound to the oxygen paradox, i.e., they cannot live without oxygen, but at the same time it represents a hazard to their health status [1]
It is apparent that identifying molecules for protection against oxidative stress (OS) is a matter of vital importance
Considering all the beneficial effects and the antioxidant capacity (AOC) of both MLT and phenolic compounds, it seems logical to assume that combining their structural features would lead to species with boosted or synergic activities
Summary
Aerobic organisms are bound to the oxygen paradox, i.e., they cannot live without oxygen, but at the same time it represents a hazard to their health status [1]. The risk arises from the formation of oxidants, which is inherent to aerobic respiration These species inflict structural damage to numerous molecules that are biologically important, including carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Such damage is usually referred to as oxidative stress (OS), and can be potentiated by environmental and physiological factors that contribute to increase the oxidant amount. In addition to the enzymatic protection, there are many molecules that can offer chemical protection against OS They are frequently referred to as antioxidants, and in the last decades have become the focus of numerous investigations. Among the molecules that offer chemical protection against OS, melatonin (MLT, Figure 1) and investigations.
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