Antioxidant News and Research

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Antioxidants are substances that protect cells from the damage caused by free radicals (unstable molecules made by the process of oxidation during normal metabolism). Free radicals may play a part in cancer, heart disease, stroke, and other diseases of aging. Antioxidants include beta-carotene, lycopene, vitamins A, C, and E, and other natural and manufactured substances.

Study to examine whether red wine component could help reduce concussions in pro boxers

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers are engaging the help of professional boxers and trainers to study whether a component in red wine and grapes could help reduce the short- and long-term effects of concussions.

26 May 2011

NIST releases suite of green tea reference materials for manufacturers

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has released a suite of green tea reference materials to help manufacturers evaluate the composition of their products and assure researchers of the accuracy of analytical methods for studying the human health effects of this popular beverage and dietary supplement.

26 May 2011

Scientific evidence supports benefits of sunscreen usage to prevent skin cancer

The American Academy of Dermatology today reiterated the safety and effectiveness of sunscreens to protect against the damaging effects from exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. As one component of a daily sun-protection strategy, sunscreen is an important tool in the fight against skin cancer, including melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

24 May 2011

Bitter cumin contains high levels of antioxidants and protects against DNA damage

Bitter cumin is used extensively in traditional medicine to treat a range of diseases from vitiligo to hyperglycemia. It is considered to be antiparasitic and antimicrobial and science has backed up claims of its use to reduce fever or as a painkiller. New research published in BioMedCentral's open access journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine shows that this humble spice also contains high levels of antioxidants.

20 May 2011

Cholesterol drug may help treat mitochondrial diseases

A human drug that both prevents and cures kidney failure in mice sheds light on disabling human mitochondrial disorders, and may represent a potential treatment in people with such illnesses.

20 May 2011

Goat milk has nutritional characteristics beneficial to human health

Researchers at the University of Granada have found that goat milk has nutritional characteristics beneficial to health. They have determined that goat milk has many nutrients that make it similar to human milk.

19 May 2011

Impaired ability to handle oxidative stress may contribute to asthma development

An impaired ability to handle oxidative stress that arises from exposure to secondhand smoke and other environmental triggers may contribute to the development of asthma, according to results obtained from the Shanghai Women's Health Asthma and Allergy Study. The results of the study suggest regulating the body's antioxidant defense system may play an important role in asthma prevention.

18 May 2011

Inhalation of hydrogen can reduce hyperoxic lung injury

Inhaling small amounts of hydrogen in addition to concentrated oxygen may help stem the damage to lung tissue that can occur when critically ill patients are given oxygen for long periods of time, according to a rat model study conducted by researchers in Pittsburgh. The study also found hydrogen initiates activation of heme-oxygenase (HO-1), an enzyme that protects lung cells.

17 May 2011

Liquid rice hull smoke could help fight diseases

Liquid smoke flavoring made from hickory and other wood - a mainstay flavoring and anti-bacterial agent for the prepared food industry and home kitchens - may get a competitor that seems to be packed with antioxidant, antiallergenic and anti-inflammatory substances, according to a new study in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. It is the first analysis of liquid smoke produced from rice hulls, the hard, inedible coverings of rice grains.

12 May 2011

Acetyl resveratrol could protect against radiation sickness

In the midst of ongoing concerns about radiation exposure from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, scientists are reporting that a substance similar to resveratrol - an antioxidant found in red wine, grapes and nuts - could protect against radiation sickness. The report appears in ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

5 May 2011

FibroGen announces proof-of-principle for FG-4592 Phase 2 study in hemodialysis patients

FibroGen, Inc., today announced proof-of-principle for oral anemia therapy FG-4592, a hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor, in end-stage renal disease patients receiving hemodialysis.

4 May 2011

New antioxidant may prevent liver damage in chronic alcoholics

An antioxidant may prevent damage to the liver caused by excessive alcohol, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

3 May 2011

Neither vitamin E nor metformin reduces liver enzymes in children with fatty liver disease: Study

The largest study of its type has found that neither vitamin E, which is an antioxidant, nor the diabetes drug metformin, successfully reduced liver enzymes in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in children or teens, according to a paper published in the April 27, 2011 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.

30 Apr 2011

Vitamin E effective against severe fatty liver disease in some children

A specific form of vitamin E improved the most severe form of fatty liver disease in some children, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Results appear in the April 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. A previous study found vitamin E effective in some adults with the disease.

28 Apr 2011

Blueberries can protect against heart disease and cancer

The first analysis of the healthful antioxidant content of blueberries that grow wild in Mexico, Central and South America concludes that some of these fruits have even more healthful antioxidants than the blueberries - already renowned as "super fruits" - sold throughout the United States.

28 Apr 2011

Blueberries may help fight obesity

Recently a study out of the Texas Women's University looked at whether blueberries with their high polyphenol content could help in fighting obesity. Blueberries after all have already been cited as having positive health effects on other conditions like cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. The study was conducted in Petri dishes (not live animals) using a blueberry polyphenol extract and tissue cultures from mice.

27 Apr 2011

FDA clears Biomet's Active Articulation Hip System

Biomet, Inc., a global leader in the manufacture of orthopedic and biotechnology products, today announced clearance of its Active Articulation E1 Dual Mobility Hip System, by the United States Food and Drug Administration.

27 Apr 2011

New approach links cancer cell metabolism with poor clinical outcome

Identifying gene mutations in cancer patients to predict clinical outcome has been the cornerstone of cancer research for nearly three decades, but now researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have invented a new approach that instead links cancer cell metabolism with poor clinical outcome. This approach can now be applied to virtually any type of human cancer cell.

15 Apr 2011

Tansy plant can help treat herpes: Study

A folk remedy may be an effective treatment for the sexually transmitted disease herpes according to Dr Solomon Habtemariam from the University of Greenwich's School of Science and Professor Francisco Parra at the Universidad de Oviedo in Spain.

15 Apr 2011

Medicinal applications of fullerenes, filled with radioactive material

Fullerenes have attracted considerable attention in different fields of science since their discovery in 1985. Investigations of physical, chemical and biological properties of fullerenes have yielded promising information. It is inferred that size, hydrophobicity, three-dimensionality and electronic configurations make them an appealing subject in medicinal chemistry. Their unique carbon cage structure coupled with immense scope for derivatization make them a potential therapeutic agent.

13 Apr 2011