We have discussed reactive oxidative species(ROS) or free radicals in our earlier blogs . These are high reactive biological substances that are derived from oxygen. Many examples of oxidative species are called free radicals-atoms or molecules with unpaired electrons that makes them highly reactive. Some examples of ROS include superoxide anion & hydrogen peroxide( just for reference- we are not required to learn about these reactive substances). Since they are highly reactive, they can easily react with & damage important molecules such as DNA, protein( including key enzymes & structural proteins) & lipid.This is referred to as oxidative damage. As shared in our previous blog, ROS or free radicals are produced during the cell respiration process ( process by which chemical energy is converted into a common energy source that is used by various cellular functions).
In particular, aerobic respiration by mitochondria leads to production of ROS since oxygen is converted into water. Hydrogen Peroxide is one of the ROS produced by mitochondria during the respiration process. It is formed from another reactive ROS- superoxide. Superoxide is converted into Hydrogen Peroxide by antioxidant enzyme – SOD. Although Hydrogen Peroxide is less reactive as compared to superoxide, it is capable of causing damage to cell components. Therefore, we have a lot of antioxidants that help in preventing too much accumulation of Hydrogen Peroxide durig respiration. This essentially means that having antioxidants in our diet is important to keep these free radicals or ROS at bay. Some of the foods that offer antioxidants include Broccoli, Spinach, Radish, beetroot, sweet potato, pumpkin, jaggery & pomegranate juice.
So the question arises what is antioxidants & how does it help to nullify the impact of these free radicals or ROS
Antioxidants are biological substances that act to neutralise & get rid of ROS or free radicals.Therefore Antioxidants protect out cells against oxidative damage caused by free radicals. Our body has developed various antioxidant defences to protect our cell against oxidative damages. Some of these include glutathione, Vitamin -E & Vitamin-C that work by binding & immobilising ROS. We can obtain some of these antioxidants from foods & vegetables in our diet. Other antioxidant defence include enzymes that convert ROS into other less harmful molecules
Our antioxidants defences do a good job of preventing accumulation of ROS & minimising/eliminating cell damage. However sometimes, production of ROS exceeds our antioxidant defences. This imbalance between production of ROS antioxidant defences is referred to as oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress is harmful & is associated with inflammation, ageing & development of cancer. GPx-1 is an enzyme which protects our cells from damage caused by harmful substances such as ROS specifically eliminating hydrogen peroxide. As an antioxidant enzyme, GPx-1 converts hydrogen peroxide into water, besides GPx-1 also converts harmful lipid peroxide into less reactive lipid alcohol. Lipid peroxides are formed when lipids are exposed to oxidative damage from ROS & other free radicals. This process is called lipid peroxidation. For proper functioning, GPx-1 enzyme requires mineral selenium. You can get enough selenium in your diet from food such as brazil nuts, eggs & brown rice .
GPx-1 enzyme is coded by GPX1 gene. Variants of this gene can impact the activity of GPx-1 enzyme which in turn can impact your ability to neutralize the impact of ROS or free radicals & convert hydrogen peroxide into water.This can directly impact occurrence of oxidative stress.
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