This work offers an analysis of the biological processes mediated by free radicals, from a toxicological point of view, providing easy access to information in an integrated, coherent presentation. The chemistry and biochemistry of all principal types of radical are explained, and the multiple forms in whch radicals participate in living organisms are investigated.;This work should be of use to biochemists, pharmacologists, pharmaceutical researchers, food scientists and technologists, nutritionists, toxicologists, chemists, biologists and graduate students in these disciplines.

"Oxidative stress" is used as the generic term describing the involve ment of reactive oxygen species in various human diseases. The scope of such a topic is becoming increasingly wide. The recent interest in radicals such as nitric oxide and the discovery of new mechanisms such as the effect of free radicals on redox sensitive proteins and genes are enlarging our understanding of the physiological role of free radicals. Oxidative stress is involved in numerous pathological. processes such as ageing, respiratory or cardiovascular diseases, cancer, neurological pathologies such as dementia or Parkinson's disease. It still remains difficult, however, to demonstrate by chemical measurement the in vivo production of free radicals and even more to realise their speciation. Therefore, the development of new tools and indicators is engrossing many researchers working in this field. Reliable indicators are abso lutely necessary not only to monitor the evolution of oxidative stress in patients but also to evaluate the efficiency of new antioxidant treat ments. The French Free radical club of Grenoble, the CERLIB has been involved for many years in the organisation of international training programs on methodology, in order to provide both theoretical and practical help to researchers from various countries. Such training sessions have been highly successful and participants value the oppor tunity to learn reliable techniques. This positive echo explains why the researchers of CERLIB decided, with the help of Prof. Dr. B. Kalyanaraman, to publish selected techniques on free radical re search.

This book is based on the papers presented at the "Fourth International Congress on Oxygen Radicals (4-ICOR)," held June 27 - July 3, 1987, at the University of California, La Jolla. The chapters deal with the phenomena associated with highly reactive oxygen species (hydroxy, peroxy, alkoxy, aroxy, and superoxide radicals, as well as singlet oxygen) and their peroxidation products (hydrogen peroxide, hydroperoxides, peroxides, and epoxides) as they relate to the fields of chemistry, food technology, nutrition, biology, pharmacology, and medicine. The kinetics, energetics, and mechanistic aspects of the reactions of these species and the interrelationship of oxygen radicals (or any other free radicals) and peroxidized products have been emphasized. Special attention is focused on the mechanisms of the generation of free radicals and peroxy products in biosystems and on the adverse effects of these radicals and products in humans. The topics span the continuum from the simple chemistry of model systems to the complex considerations of clinical medicine. The book also explores the mechanisms of agents that protect against free radicals and peroxy products in vitro and in vivo. These agents include antioxidants used in materials, food antioxidants, physiological antioxidants, and antioxienzymes (SOD, glutathione peroxidase, and catalases). The use of these inhibitors to prevent damage to organs being prepared for transplantation, thereby maintaining the quality of transplanted organs and/or extending their "shelf-life," also is examined.

Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine has become a classic text in the field of free radical and antioxidant research. Now in its fifth edition, the book has been comprehensively rewritten and updated whilst maintaining the clarity of its predecessors. Two new chapters discuss 'in vivo' and 'dietary' antioxidants, the first emphasising the role of peroxiredoxins and integrated defence mechanisms which allow useful roles for ROS, and the second containing new information on the role of fruits, vegetables, and vitamins in health and disease. This new edition also contains expanded coverage of the mechanisms of oxidative damage to lipids, DNA, and proteins (and the repair of such damage), and the roles played by reactive species in signal transduction, cell survival, death, human reproduction, defence mechanisms of animals and plants against pathogens, and other important biological events. The methodologies available to measure reactive species and oxidative damage (and their potential pitfalls) have been fully updated, as have the topics of phagocyte ROS production, NADPH oxidase enzymes, and toxicology. There is a detailed and critical evaluation of the role of free radicals and other reactive species in human diseases, especially cancer, cardiovascular, chronic inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. New aspects of ageing are discussed in the context of the free radical theory of ageing. This book is recommended as a comprehensive introduction to the field for students, educators, clinicians, and researchers. It will also be an invaluable companion to all those interested in the role of free radicals in the life and biomedical sciences.

This cutting-edge and updated book offers methods for the rapid detection of RONs and redox stress. It includes in-depth analysis of natural and synthetic antioxidants, and also of DNA oxidation, oxidative lipidomics, and biomarkers.

This book describes the methods of analysis and determination of oxidants and oxidative stress in biological systems. Reviews and protocols on select methods of analysis of ROS, RNS, oxygen, redox status, and oxidative stress in biological systems are described in detail. It is an essential resource for both novices and experts in the field of oxidant and oxidative stress biology.

Free Radicals in Biology, Volume 1, provides an introduction to some of the basic concepts of free radical biology. The book emerged from the President's Symposium of the American Society for Experimental Pathology held in Atlantic City in April 1970. The book's opening chapter introduces a mechanistic view of free radical reactions using examples from biological systems. This is followed by a discussion of autoxidative damage to lipids in membranes. Some of the special chemistry of lipid oxidation are presented, and a number of novel ideas are suggested. The third chapter deals with the uses of electron-spin resonance in biology. Spin labeling is also discussed, which is one of the most useful methods of probing the chemical and physical environment of molecules in cells. The remaining chapters cover free radicals which occur in photosynthesis and the importance of the enzyme, superoxide dismutase. The study of the occurrence and reactions of this enzyme provides an important and extensive body of data clearly pointing to the significance of free radicals in cellular chemistry.