ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the art of nutraceutical substances that have an antioxidant effect at a cellular level that results in beneficial effects on innate, humoral, and/or cellular immune responses. Immunomodulation refers to changing the various immune and inflammatory processes in the body through therapeutic means. cannabidiol is more potent for immunomodulation than tetrahydrocannabinol.Several microminerals are involved in immunomodulation via enzyme-related antioxidant effects. Antioxidant nutraceuticals is one subset of nutraceuticals. Antioxidant nutraceuticals include vitamins, phytochemicals, microminerals, and coenzymes. The four major antioxidant vitamins are ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol, ß-carotene, and folic acid. α-Tocopherol is the most important lipid-soluble antioxidant. The beauty of ß-carotene, a vitamin A precursor, as a nutraceutical is that the body will only convert as much of it to vitamin A as the body needs. However, excess vitamin A intake can have several toxic sequelae. Vitamin A is the name of a group of fat-soluble retinoids, including retinol, retinal, and retinyl esters.
