1Department of Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, P. R. China.
Am J Chin Med. 2019;47(5):1005-1024. doi: 10.1142/S0192415X19500514. Epub 2019 Jul 17.
Anti-oxidant refers to such a kind of endogenous or exogenous compound that is able to retard or even prohibit or oxidation with only small amount being used. The study of anti-oxidants starts nearly 30 years ago, and the research on this topic in China almost begins simultaneously with that in the world. Gratifyingly, contributions on anti-oxidants from China researchers have rapidly increased in the recent decade as anti-oxidants have become a hot topic in biochemistry, pharmacology, food science, chemistry as well as other related disciplines. Anti-oxidants provide a specific viewpoint for clarifying pharmacological effects of Chinese medicinal herbs. For example, as a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, C. A. Meyer is found to be a natural anti-oxidant resource. Meanwhile, some signaling pathways such as nuclear factor-B (NF-B), nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2), and Kelch-like ECH associated protein 1 (Keap1) are regarded to play an important role in anti-oxidant responses. These findings provide a substantial basis for understanding the pharmacological behaviors of Chinese medicinal herbs in view of regulating the aforementioned signaling pathways. Moreover, inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by supplementation of anti-oxidant becomes a popularly accepted idea in keeping health and treating diseases. Isolations of antio-xidative ingredients from medicinal herbs and foods lead to set up a large range of anti-oxidative compound libraries, and intake of anti-oxidants from foods may be the most efficient way for supplementing exogenous anti-oxidants. On the other hand, designing anti-oxidants with novel structures motivates organic and medicinal chemists to explore the structure-activity relationship, and then, to find novel structural features with anti-oxidative properties. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that China researchers will donate more endeavors to obtain more achievements on anti-oxidants in the future.
抗氧化剂是指这样一种内源性或外源性化合物，只需少量使用就能延缓甚至阻止氧化。抗氧化剂的研究始于近 30 年前，中国在这一领域的研究几乎与世界同步开始。令人高兴的是，近十年来，由于抗氧化剂成为生物化学、药理学、食品科学、化学等相关学科的热门话题，中国研究人员在抗氧化剂方面的贡献迅速增加。抗氧化剂为阐明中草药的药理作用提供了一个特定的观点。例如，作为一种传统的中草药，杨梅被发现是一种天然的抗氧化剂资源。同时，一些信号通路，如核因子-B（NF-B）、核因子红细胞 2 相关因子 2（Nrf2）和 Kelch 样 ECH 相关蛋白 1（Keap1），被认为在抗氧化反应中发挥重要作用。这些发现为从调节上述信号通路的角度理解中草药的药理行为提供了实质性的基础。此外，通过补充抗氧化剂抑制活性氧（ROS）已成为保持健康和治疗疾病的一种普遍接受的观点。从草药和食物中分离抗氧化成分导致建立了大量的抗氧化化合物库，并且从食物中摄入抗氧化剂可能是补充外源性抗氧化剂最有效的方法。另一方面，设计具有新颖结构的抗氧化剂促使有机和药物化学家探索结构-活性关系，然后找到具有抗氧化特性的新结构特征。因此，可以合理地相信，中国研究人员将在未来为获得更多的抗氧化剂成果做出更多的贡献。
