• ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF MUSHROOMS - A REVIEW

Abstract

An antioxidant is defined as a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules, whereas a biological antioxidant has been defined as “any substance that, when present at low concentrations compared to those of an oxidizable substrate, significantly delays or prevents oxidation of that substrate”. Oxidation is essential to many living organisms for the production of energy to fuel biological processes. However, oxygen-centered free radicals and other reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are continuously, produced in vivo, cause cell death and tissue damage.