Antioxidants are molecules which can safely interact with free radicals and terminate the chain reaction before vital molecules are damaged. Free radicals are highly aggressive unstable oxygen molecules that destroy our cells and thereby accelerate the ageing process (so-called oxidative stress). These free radical cells can also change into cancer cells and significantly increase the risk of getting cancer. Free radicals arise through normal metabolic processes such as breathing (combustion of oxygen) and through UV radiation. Our body has developed mechanisms for protecting against free radicals and rendering them harmless. In particular, antioxidants play an important role in this, increasing the efficiency of the immune system and its ability to protect against oxidative stress. They defuse the free radicals by intercepting them and transforming them into harmless molecules. Antioxidants can be divided up into two groups. The so-called endogenous antioxidants are produced by the body itself. Substances that have to be fed to the organism with its food supply are termed exogenous antioxidants. The natural antioxidants known today include vitamins C and E, betacarotene, coenzyme Q10 and trace elements such as zinc, manganese or selenium etc., but also the body`s own enzyme system (e.g. superoxide dismutasis).

	Bioanalytical system based on photosensitized chemiluminescence
	PHOTOCHEM®