Bob wrote:
> Can someone please explain to me what is lipid peroxidation? thanks
I guess no one has replied because it is actually quite difficult to
compose an answer which combines simplicity, accuracy and utility.
Here's an attempt at that.
Lipid peroxidation is a chemical reaction between certain types of
lipid molecule and oxygen, whereby the oxygen molecule is incorporated
into the lipid molecule to form a lipid hydroperoxide. In typical
biological systems, most of the lipids present do not spontaneously
react with oxygen; peroxidation begins when a lipid molecule reacts
with something much more reactive than oxygen, such as the hydroxyl
radical, to form a much more reactive variant of the lipid (a lipid
radical) which then reacts with oxygen. Lipid hydroperoxides are
intermediate in reactivity between normal lipids and lipid radicals:
they don't react with oxygen, but they do react with chemicals that
normal lipids don't (such as iron) and this causes more peroxidation.
Aubrey de Grey
