ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews briefly some of the antioxidants. Coenzyme Q (CoQ), also known as ubiquinone, was first isolated from beef heart and chemically characterized in 1957 by Frederick Crane. The two major known functions of CoQ are bioenergetic and antioxidant. CoQ plays a vital role in the production of energy from oxidation of glucose in the mitochondria coupling, the transfer and translocation of electrons, and translocation of protons through the osmotic barrier of the mitochondrial christae membrane. Uric acid concentration in our body fluids of 0.2-.0.4 mM is higher than ascorbate another major water-soluble antioxidant. While short-term use of low doses of melatonin appears safe, there is no information on its long-term side effects or interactions with drugs or other antioxidants. These antioxidants, whether supplied in the diet, produced in our body, or merely used as food antioxidants play an important role, directly or indirectly, on the antioxidant status in humans.
