Bioantioxidants: the systems reliability standpoint

The antioxidant power of the so-called antioxidants is negligible because their rate constants and concentrations are too small to compete with the specialized defense enzymes, like superoxide dismutase (SOD), for the reactive oxygen species. In this short review, we present a number of experimental data of our group, along with the relevant literature data, to show that in-vivo antioxidants increase the systems reliability in other tacks. For example, butylated hydroxytoluene can prevent production of O₂ ^•– in mitochondria, whereas flavonoids can induce expression of antioxidant enzymes, SOD and catalase. We suggest that the timely introduction of antioxidants can provide the beneficial physiological effects through the prophylactic reliability maintenance against reactive forms of oxygen via the hormonal system.