Greabu Maria, Battino M, Mohora Maria, Olinescu R, Totan Alexandra, Didilescu Andreea
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
Rom J Intern Med. 2008;46(2):125-35.
Oxygen is an essential element for life on earth. No life may exist without oxygen. But in the last forty years, conclusive evidence demonstrated the double-edge sword of this element. In certain conditions, oxygen may produce reactive species, even free radicals. More, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) takes place everywhere: in air, nature or inside human bodies. The paradox of oxygen atom is entirely due to its peculiar electronic structure. But life began on earth, only when nature found efficient weapons against ROS, these antioxidants, which all creatures are extensibly endowed with. The consequences of oxygen activation in human bodies are only partly known, in spite of extensive scientific research on theoretical, experimental and clinical domains.
氧气是地球上生命的必需元素。没有氧气，生命就不可能存在。但在过去的四十年里，确凿的证据表明了这种元素的双刃剑性质。在某些条件下，氧气可能会产生活性物质，甚至自由基。此外，活性氧（ROS）的产生无处不在：在空气、自然界或人体内部。氧原子的矛盾完全归因于其独特的电子结构。但只有当自然界找到对抗ROS的有效武器——这些抗氧化剂，所有生物都广泛拥有这些抗氧化剂时，地球上才开始有生命。尽管在理论、实验和临床领域进行了广泛的科学研究，但人体中氧激活的后果仍只是部分为人所知。
