Breaking free from free radicals: harnessing the power of natural antioxidants for health and disease prevention

Massive production of the free radicals disrupts the system of antioxidant defense in the animal body thereby causing damage to cellular molecules (nucleic acid, lipids, protein, and cell membrane) which results to cell death or mutation that may give rise to abnormal cell division. Synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene have been determined to be toxic to the health of human beings. Thus, the finding for nontoxic, effective, and safe natural compounds with potent antioxidant activities has been increasing in the last few years. Antioxidants are most frequently utilized in the control and management of oxidative stress-associated cancer and other diseases. The present review presents brief information on free radicals, their types, oxidative stress-directed effects and the function of natural and synthetic antioxidants in the control of cancer and other diseases.