Herbal antioxidants are becoming increasingly important

Secondary plant compounds as an alternative to antioxidant vitamins and minerals. The human organism is constantly exposed to so-called free radicals, which are a burden on the body. If they get out of hand, the result is oxidative stress, which can promote disease. While this has been treated in the past with the help of antioxidant vitamins and minerals, scientists are now increasingly turning to the use of phytochemicals, representing plant secondary metabolites. This has resulted in an analysis of almost 300,000 scientific papers by a team led by the molecular biologist Atanas G. Atanasov from the University of Vienna. The results have recently been published in the journal "Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity". Due to the natural progression of aging, biological oxidative processes are increasing, which is associated with a variety of inflammation-linked diseases such as autoimmune diseases, diabetes or cancer.