Low-Molecular-Weight Synthetic Antioxidants: Classification, Pharmacological Profile, Effectiveness and Trends

Abstract

Mounting research has been performed and published on natural antioxidants, more so than on synthetic ones, as key molecules that control oxidative damage and its pathway to disease. Since the discovery of vitamins, various fully synthetic or natural-identical compounds have been developed as stable small molecules translated into constantly active and completely controlled products which are widely exploited in the food and pharmaceutical industries. There is currently a debate within the literature about their mechanism of action, bioavailability, safety and real benefit for human health. Using a semiquantitative method and eligible criteria of selection, this review aimed to provide a very useful classification of antioxidants and a comprehensive cross-disciplinary description of 32 approved synthetic/natural-identical antioxidants, in terms of regulatory, antioxidant mechanism of action, safety issues, pharmacological properties, effectiveness in human health, timeline and future trends. Enriched interpretation of the data was obtained from summary bibliometrics, useful to portray the “good antioxidant” within the period 1966–2021 and, hopefully, to encourage further research.

Antioxidants and cisplatin nephrotoxicity; an updated review on current knowledge

“…Recently, antioxidants were classified into four classes: dietary antioxidants, free radical scavengers, thiolcontaining compounds, and iron chelators (11). In a previous review study, dietary antioxidants are categorized into 11 classes by Gómez-Sierra et al The classless include capsaicin, curcumin, ellagic acid, epigallocatechin 3-gallate, alpha-lipoic acid, lycopene, quercetin, resveratrol, sulforaphane, tannins, and vitamins.…”

Evaluation the effectiveness of Andrographis paniculata aqueous extract on hepatotoxicity and CD44 gene expression in male rabbits treated with butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)

“…Oxidative stress is produced when ROS and RNS are generated in large quantities, which include superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hydroxyl radicals (OH), superoxide (O2-. ), nitric oxide (NO) and peroxynitrite (ONOO-) due to the enzymatic effect of xanthine oxidase, an enzyme Monoamine oxidase, NADPH oxidase, nitric oxide synthase, electron transport chain In addition to spontaneous oxidation or chemical reactions that may produce other unstable species (Stoia et al, 2022), these free radicals contain unpaired electrons. These (single) electrons are energetic and highly dangerously reactive with other species, causing destructive changes within the mitochondrion.…”

Antibacterial and antioxidant activity of endophytic fungi isolated from Peronema canescens leaves

“…Free radicals have been implicated in the pathology of many diseases, including cancer, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders, in addition for aging (Sharifi-Rad et al 2020;Dewage et al 2022;Michalak 2022). Many synthetic antioxidant components have been shown to have toxic and/or mutagenic effects, and these findings have prompted research on the properties of natural antioxidants (Lourenço et al 2019;Stoia and Oancea 2022). On the other hand, bacterial resistance for available synthetic and semi-synthetic antibacterial agents is growing rapidly.…”