Efficacy of Vitamin E as a Drug in Inflammatory Joint Diseases

Abstract

Living organisms are composed of substances that are thermo dynamically unstable towards oxygen. Proteins, lipids, polysaccharides and nucleid acids can react with molecular oxygen and be deactivated. This interaction never occurs, however, because of in-built inhibitory mechanisms; i.e. the reactions proceed so slowly that in the course of normal observation periods no noteworthy changes occur in the basic constituents of the organism. As evolution has proceeded, this situation has been promoted by the fact that the metabolism has switched from anaerobic to aerobic processes for the purposes of increasing performance. The reaction between oxygen and hydrogen during oxidative phosphorylation has been restricted in the mitochondria in such a way as to exploit the large amounts of energy released by the oxohydrogen reaction and to prevent the structure of the cell from being oxidatively damaged.