Antioxidants and Reactive Oxygen Species: Shaping Human Health and Disease Outcomes

Reactive molecules, including oxygen and nitrogen species, serve dual roles in human physiology. While they function as essential signaling molecules under normal physiological conditions, they contribute to cellular dysfunction and damage when produced in excess by normal metabolism or in response to stressors. Oxidative/nitrosative stress is a pathological state, resulting from the overproduction of reactive species exceeding the antioxidant capacity of the body, which is implicated in several chronic human diseases. Antioxidant therapies aimed at restoring redox balance and preventing oxidative/nitrosative stress have demonstrated efficacy in preclinical models. However, their clinical applications have met…