Čes. slov. farm. 2007, 56(2):73-76

Antioxidants, free radicals, mechanism of action and application in the therapy of the sulfur mustard caused injury

V. Kolečkář^1,2, E. Brojerová¹, L. Opletal¹, D. Jun^2,3, K. Kuča^2,3

¹ Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Farmaceutická fakulta v Hradci Králové, Katedra farmaceutické botaniky a ekologie

² Univerzita obrany, Fakulta vojenského zdravotnictví, Centrum pokročilých studií, Hradec Králové

³ Univerzita obrany, Fakulta vojenského zdravotnictví, Katedra toxikologie, Hradec Králové

Antioxidants perform an important role in the maintenance of the integrity of the living organisms. Recently, great attention has been given to antioxidants by a reason of their medical use. It is due to the association of many human diseases with oxidative stress. The present study briefly surveys the types of antioxidants, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and describes the basic mechanisms of their activity. The application of antioxidants in the therapy of the injury caused by sulfur mustard, a vesicant type chemical warfare agent introduced in World War I, is also given.

Keywords: antioxidant; free radical; sulfur mustard

Received: February 28, 2007; Accepted: March 14, 2007; Published: February 1, 2007  Show citation