Oxidative Stress

Oxidative stress is defined as a disturbance in the balance between the production of free radicals (ROS) and antioxidants in favor of the oxidants. The imbalance between those two fractions may potentially lead to cell damage at molecular level ⁽¹⁾. Free radicals derived from oxidative stress are required at low concentrations for many important physiological functions, such as muscle contraction and drug detoxification ⁽⁵⁾.

Oxidative stress induces DNA damage by several mechanisms, including:

• nucleotide base modification,
• single strand break, or double strand break,
• inhibiting DNA - formamidopyrimidine (FAPY) glycosylase,
• alters the mRNA translational process and impairs protein synthesis
• alters cellular proteostasis
• formation of lipid hydroperoxides and aldehydes, which contribute to cellular toxicity. Lipid oxidation of plasma and organelle membranes alters membrane permeability and fluidity ⁽³⁾.

The intracellular accumulation of oxidized biomolecules leads to cellular dysfunction and various diseases, including autoimmune disorders and inflammation ⁽⁵⁾, chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) and male infertility ⁽²⁾, cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases ⁽³⁾, several age-related conditions (ie chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer), including sarcopenia and frailty ⁽⁴⁾.