Benjamin Franklin’s phrase “People want to live long, but nobody wants to be old” encapsulates a hard truth, shared even by modern man, who — in the wish to exorcise the age-old fear of aging first and death later — seeks ever more effective tools — and sometimes extreme ones — to transform the body into an image of eternal youth.
Aging and Free Radicals
Although the aging process is extremely complex and shaped by the interaction of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors — to which a random event may add — the theory that assigns a decisive role to an excess of free radicals and the resulting oxidative stress is one of the most credible. It posits that age-related cellular dysfunction could derive from the accumulation of ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) at the level of various molecules, to which lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation and oxidative modifications at the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA levels are added.
Free radicals, reacting with cellular structures, cause disruption of normal biological processes and tissue deterioration. The resulting consequences involve the impairment of multiple metabolic pathways and a wide range of organs and systems. The accumulation of damage can, over time, lead to the development of various pathological conditions and accelerate the aging process.
Supporting the Antioxidant Network
An excessive or inadequately balanced production of free radicals — when endogenous antioxidant systems fail to counteract it effectively — can trigger what is commonly referred to as toxic oxidative stress or DISTRESS, responsible for progressive mitochondrial damage, which becomes emblematic of cellular decline associated with aging. Generally, to curb oxidative stress, the body enacts a true antioxidant network: made up of endogenous and exogenous systems, the latter can be strained not only by the advancing biological age but also by particular conditions (infections, inflammatory processes, intense athletic activity, psychological stress, metabolism of external substances such as tobacco, alcohol, poor diet) or by exposure to predisposed environmental factors, such as air pollution, sunlight and ionizing radiation.
A balanced and nutrient-rich diet represents, as always, the ideal tool to guarantee health to the body and support its antioxidant systems, but above all as age advances, targeted supplementation with nutraceuticals and phytotherapy can prove useful for managing and especially preventing oxidative damage. Among these are polyphenols, flavonoids, lycopene, carotenoids, vitamins A, C and E, and minerals such as selenium, zinc and copper.
Polyphenols
Produced by the secondary metabolism of plants, polyphenols constitute a family of numerous organic molecules widely present in the plant kingdom. They are characterized by the presence of multiple phenolic groups linked in structures of varying shape and complexity. Characterized by significant antioxidant activity, but also anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic, and anti-aging properties, they are frequently included in formulations of antioxidant and anti-aging supplements. Well-known examples of this category include resveratrol — found in grape berries, wine, some berries and oily seeds — epigallocatechin gallate from green tea or cacao, and pycnogenol — a mixture of antioxidant substances such as oligomeric proanthocyanidins, present in high concentrations in red grape seeds and in the pine bark of maritime pine.
From the stalk of Haematococcus pluvialis, a green microalga, astaxanthin is extracted, a carotenoid whose antioxidant properties have been recognized as far superior to those of vitamin E (tocopherol), particularly useful for skin health (it is a precursor to vitamin A) capable of reducing photosensitivity side effects, contributing to retinal well-being and promoting collagen production, thereby improving skin hydration and elasticity and countering signs of aging. The minimum effective dose for astaxanthin is 5 mg/day.
Among the flavonoids, the bergamot (Citrus bergamia) flavonoids stand out for their well-established antioxidant efficacy — neoeriocitrin, neo-hesperidin, naringin, rutin — with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and vasoprotective properties essential for maintaining cardiovascular health — as well as those from cacao (Theobroma cacao L. seeds), especially catechin and epicatechin (monomeric flavanols), with proanthocyanidins playing a less prominent role. Among the activities attributed to cacao polyphenols — beyond vasodilation — is the inhibition, by virtue of their antioxidant effect, of LDL oxidation and LOX activity, as well as the reduction of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, an increase in HDL cholesterol, and the prevention of blood coagulation through inhibition of platelet aggregation.
Endogenous Antioxidants
Using nutraceuticals, it is then possible to directly supplement some endogenous antioxidants as well, such as Coenzyme Q10, whose synthesis progressively declines with age: it is a lipid molecule — present in the membranes of all cellular organelles — that performs its function at the inner mitochondrial membrane, where it carries high-energy electrons along the mitochondrial respiratory chain (energy production via oxygen).
In addition to effective antioxidant activity, it has direct anti-inflammatory action and represents an important nutraceutical to protect the brain from neurodegenerative diseases, but above all to safeguard cardiovascular function. It is important, however, to pay attention to dosing: the effective dose corresponds to 200-600 mg/day (ubiquinone).
Characterized by a marked preventive activity against oxidative stress is also glutathione, whose oral bioavailability is, however, quite low compared to injectable or intravenous routes.
It is therefore possible to consider supplementation with glutathione precursors such as N-Acetyl-Cysteine or NAC: known for its mucolytic properties, it is a derivative with acetylation on the nitrogen-bearing group (N) of the amino acid cysteine — one of the three amino acids that form glutathione — compared to which it offers better intestinal absorption and thus greater cellular availability, where it is converted into L-cysteine. In addition to antioxidant properties, NAC can increase endogenous glutathione levels, making it particularly effective in fighting oxidative damage.
Tratto dal numero di aprile 2025 di Karla Miller
Abbonati a Karla Miller
