What are antioxidant enzymes?

The human body has several enzyme systems that are designed to neutralize free radicals and reactive oxygen species.  Uncontrolled free radicals have been associated with a number of diseases including diabetes, cancer, and inflammation.

Under normal conditions the human body can respond to free radicals and neutralize the damage they cause with enzyme systems in the human body already.

Examples of antioxidant enzymes:

Superoxide dismutase

Glutathione peroxidase

Glutathione reductase

Catalase

 

Here are articles with clinical trials using different antioxidants.

 

These helps protect the body and more specifically individual cells in the human body from free radical damage.  These enzyme systems also require specific minerals that depend on each enzyme.

 

Examples of minerals that are used by different antioxidant enzymes include:

Selenium

Iron

Copper

Zinc

Manganese

If you ever hear that minerals are antioxidants, the reason we need these trace minerals is because they help an enzyme function properly.

Jeremy Johnson, PharmD, PhD


Categories: Antioxidant, Ask the Pharmacist, Inflammation, Plant Medicine