Summary and Future Prospects

Abstract

Age-related diseases have become the major health challenge in the twenty-first century. Aging is a multifactorial, progressive, and universal process characterized by degenerative in nature, accompanied by the degenerative of biological and cognitive function and eventually increased mortality rate. In particular, the endogenous antioxidant systems in elderly people are impaired and thus they are prone to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress plays a vital role in the development of age-related diseases such as osteoporosis, vascular disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, atherosclerosis, obesity, arthritis, and metabolic syndromes. Inappropriate stimulation of the immune system and modification of the redox status during aging may lead to the elevation of systemic inflammatory status. These processes may cause the stimulation of inflammatory mediators through oxidative stress-induced redox imbalance. It has been suggested that antioxidants can inhibit oxidative chain reactions and reduce the development of age-related diseases via a few mechanisms. The wide range of processes in which the antioxidant molecules are involved implies that a potential role of antioxidants in the prevention of age-related diseases. Collectively, antioxidants hold a great promising and may represent a useful approach in the prevention of age-related diseases and promoting healthy longevity.