ABSTRACT
It is now well-established that CB appears as a pleomorphic, multi-lamellar, quasi-crystalline, electron-dense stacks of degenerated mitochondrial membranes in the most vulnerable cell in response to nutritional and environmental stress due to free radical overproduction. Free radicals are generated in the mitochondria as a byproduct of oxidative phosphorylation during ATP synthesis in the electron transport chain. CB is the pre-apoptotic biomarker of CMB and is formed due to free radical over-production in response to malnutrition, environmental toxins, drugs, and/or infection. Free radicals are highly reactive oxygen species (·OH, ·ON, CO·) with a half-life of 10–13 to 10–14 seconds and induce lipid peroxidation by causing structural and functional breakdown of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the plasma membranes, particularly in the brain, heart, liver, muscle, and adipose tissue.
