Synonyms
Definition
The outcome of disbalance between oxidants and antioxidants is known as oxidative stress (OS).
Introduction
Oxidation of substrates occurs during the process of aerobic metabolism, a crucial step towards efficient production of energy in the cells. There occurs a steady state balance between oxidation-reduction processes within the cell. During the process of substrate oxidation, free radicals particularly reactive oxygen agents with known toxicity are produced in low levels. Usually these free radicals are soon cleared by several antioxidant mechanisms preventing their accumulation. Oxidative stress is defined as “an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants in favour of oxidants, potentially leading to damage” (Sies 2000). Various pathologic process disrupt this balance leading to oxidative stress which can occur both through the failure of the antioxidant mechanisms as well as the excessive production of prooxidants in the body (Kar and Choudhury 2016;...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Brown, N. C., Andreazza, A. C., & Young, L. T. (2014). An updated meta-analysis of oxidative stress markers in bipolar disorder. Psychiatry Research, 218(1), 61–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2014.04.005.
de Sousa, C. V., Sales, M. M., Rosa, T. S., Lewis, J. E., de Andrade, R. V., & Simões, H. G. (2017). The antioxidant effect of exercise: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine (Auckland, NZ), 47(2), 277–293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0566-1.
Flatow, J., Buckley, P., & Miller, B. J. (2013). Meta-analysis of oxidative stress in schizophrenia. Biological Psychiatry, 74(6), 400–409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.03.018.
Fraguas, D., Díaz-Caneja, C. M., Rodríguez-Quiroga, A., & Arango, C. (2017). Oxidative stress and inflammation in early onset first episode psychosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 20(6), 435–444. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyx015.
Kar, S. K., & Choudhury, I. (2016). An empirical review on oxidative stress markers and their relevance in obsessive-compulsive disorder. International Journal of Nutrition, Pharmacology, Neurological Diseases, 6(4), 139. https://doi.org/10.4103/2231-0738.191641.
Kattoor, A. J., Pothineni, N. V. K., Palagiri, D., & Mehta, J. L. (2017). Oxidative stress in atherosclerosis. Current Atherosclerosis Reports, 19(11), 42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11883-017-0678-6.
Lee, S. Y., Lee, S. J., Han, C., Patkar, A. A., Masand, P. S., & Pae, C. U. (2013). Oxidative/nitrosative stress and antidepressants: Targets for novel antidepressants. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 46, 224–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2012.09.008.
Liu, T., Zhong, S., Liao, X., Chen, J., He, T., Lai, S., & Jia, Y. (2015). A meta-analysis of oxidative stress markers in depression. PLoS One, 10(10), e0138904. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138904.
Maes, M., Galecki, P., Chang, Y. S., & Berk, M. (2011). A review on the oxidative and nitrosative stress (O&NS) pathways in major depression and their possible contribution to the (neuro)degenerative processes in that illness. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 35(3), 676–692. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2010.05.004.
Ng, F., Berk, M., Dean, O., & Bush, A. I. (2008). Oxidative stress in psychiatric disorders: Evidence base and therapeutic implications. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 11(6), 851–876. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1461145707008401.
Niedzielska, E., Smaga, I., Gawlik, M., Moniczewski, A., Stankowicz, P., Pera, J., & Filip, M. (2016). Oxidative stress in neurodegenerative diseases. Molecular Neurobiology, 53(6), 4094–4125. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-015-9337-5.
Nishida, N., Arizumi, T., Takita, M., Kitai, S., Yada, N., Hagiwara, S., … Kudo, M. (2013). Reactive oxygen species induce epigenetic instability through the formation of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine in human hepatocarcinogenesis. Digestive Diseases (Basel, Switzerland), 31(5–6), 459–466. https://doi.org/10.1159/000355245.
Pandya, C. D., Howell, K. R., & Pillai, A. (2013). Antioxidants as potential therapeutics for neuropsychiatric disorders. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 46, 214–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2012.10.017.
Pizzino, G., Irrera, N., Cucinotta, M., Pallio, G., Mannino, F., Arcoraci, V., … Bitto, A. (2017). Oxidative stress: Harms and benefits for human health. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8416763.
Rajendran, P., Nandakumar, N., Rengarajan, T., Palaniswami, R., Gnanadhas, E. N., Lakshminarasaiah, U., … Nishigaki, I. (2014). Antioxidants and human diseases. Clinica Chimica Acta, 436, 332–347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2014.06.004.
Shrivastava, A., Kar, S. K., Sharma, E., Mahdi, A. A., & Dalal, P. K. (2017). A study of oxidative stress biomarkers in obsessive compulsive disorder. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 15, 52–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2017.09.004.
Sies, H. (1997). Oxidative stress: Oxidants and antioxidants. Experimental Physiology, 82(2), 291–295. https://doi.org/10.1113/expphysiol.1997.sp004024.
Sies, H. (2000). What is oxidative stress? In J. F. Keaney (Ed.), Oxidative stress and vascular disease (pp. 1–8). Boston: Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4649-8_1.
Sies, H. (2015). Oxidative stress: A concept in redox biology and medicine. Redox Biology, 4, 180–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2015.01.002.
Valko, M., Leibfritz, D., Moncol, J., Cronin, M. T. D., Mazur, M., & Telser, J. (2007). Free radicals and antioxidants in normal physiological functions and human disease. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, 39(1), 44–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocel.2006.07.001.
Zhang, M., Zhao, Z., He, L., & Wan, C. (2010). A meta-analysis of oxidative stress markers in schizophrenia. Science China Life Sciences, 53(1), 112–124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-010-0013-8.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Kar, S.K., Singh, A. (2019). Oxidative Stress and Free Radicals. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2361-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2361-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences