Synthetic and semi-synthetic antioxidants in medicine and food industry: a review

作者：Jan Tauchen, Lukáš Huml, Michal Jurášek, Joe M. Regenstein, Fatih Özoğul · 发表于：Frontiers in Pharmacology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fphar.2025.1599816 · 被引用次数：26 · 研究领域：Free Radicals and Antioxidants、Vitamin C and Antioxidants Research、Biochemical Acid Research Studies

Oxidative stress is recognized as both a causative and contributing factor in many human diseases. As a result, significant research has been devoted to the development of synthetic and semi-synthetic antioxidants (ATs). This review summarizes the therapeutic potential of synthetic ATs, explores their possible clinical applications, and highlights novel structural modifications aimed at improving their pharmacological properties. Additionally, it presents ideas for refining current antioxidant testing methodologies. Despite the ongoing research, the therapeutic efficacy of synthetic ATs remains ambiguous for several reasons. These include the following: therapeutic benefits resulting from non-antioxidant mechanisms, insufficient dosage to elicit an antioxidant effect, poor oral bioavailability, a narrow therapeutic index, or toxicity that precludes clinical use. Nevertheless, some compounds, such as ebselen, edaravone, MitoQ10, and potentially N-acetylcysteine, have shown promising results. However, further studies are needed to confirm their efficacy and clarify whether their therapeutic effects are truly mediated through antioxidant mechanisms. Dietary antioxidants have achieved relatively higher clinical success, although their toxicity has also led to the withdrawal of some agents. One emerging therapeutic strategy involves inhibition of NADPH oxidase (NOX) enzymatic activity, with compounds such as ebselen, S17834, and GKT137831 showing potential across various disease m...