Is β-Carotene a Really Safe Antioxtoant ? An Appraisal

Abstract

Oxygen is needed by all aerobic organisms to carry out vital functions, but can turn into truant radical causing extensive damage to biomolecules. The ability to utilize oxygen has provided human beings with the benefit of metabolizing fats, proteins, and carbohydrates for energy. Oxygen being a reactive compound is capable of becoming damaging molecules called free radicals or Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) essentially possessing unpaired electrons. The level of oxidative stress is determined by the balance between the rate at which prooxidants are produced and the rate at which they are removed by antioxidant defense mechanism.