Natural Radical Reactions and Applications

Excessive exposure to environmental pollution (e.g. exhaust fumes), ultraviolet light or cigarette smoke and illness can cause the body to produce harmful radicals. It has been estimated, for example, that 1014 radicals, which include NO and N02 are present in one puff of cigarette smoke. Left unchecked, destructive radicals can lead to a number of diseases in humans, including arthritis, cancer and Parkinsonism. Radicals may also start the damage that causes fatty deposits in the arteries, leading eventually to heart disease or a stroke, and experimental work points to the role of radicals in bovine spongiform encephalopathy(BSE). 

These molecules scavenge radicals and vitamin E can react with an alkoxyl radical by donating a hydrogen atom (from the OH group) to give an alcohol and a vitamin E radical, which is much less harmful. Vitamin E is believed to be regenerated by reaction with vitamin C at the cell membrane (water-lipid) surface. 

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