ABSTRACT
N.M. Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences 4 Kosygin street, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Contrary to the popular viewpoint, peroxide oxidation of lipids is a physiological process, which proceeds in normally metabolizing tissues. It obeys the same regularities as the liquid-phase oxidation of lipids in vitro. Precise regulation of lipid oxidation in a cell is carried out both chemically and enzymatically. Low oxidation rate of lipids is supported by several systems; each system functions in strictly determined limits, on specific stages of the process and has its own rate-limiting reaction. The low level of lipid peroxides in normal tissues is a result of well-balanced processes of peroxide formation and consumption. Disturbance of this balance leads to a change in the antioxidant status of an organism. Food additives can modify the rate of an oxidation stage, even being not antioxidants. However, the most powerful antioxidants proved to be additives, which components interact with peroxide radicals.
