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The Oxford Companion to the Body A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition Further reading

free radicals

The Oxford Companion to the Body | 2001 | | Copyright

free radicals A free radical is any chemical species which contains one or more unpaired electrons and which is capable of an independent existence. An unpaired electron is one that can alone occupy an atomic or molecular orbital, conventionally denoted by a superscript dot: X^•.

The biologically important free radicals are the oxygen species, superoxide O^•₂^-, the hydroxyl radical OH^•, and the reactive nitrogen species NO^•; each may play a significant physiological or pathophysiological role in the body.

See ageing; nitric oxide; oxygen.

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COLIN BLAKEMORE and SHELIA JENNETT. "free radicals." The Oxford Companion to the Body. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

COLIN BLAKEMORE and SHELIA JENNETT. "free radicals." The Oxford Companion to the Body. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O128-freeradicals.html

COLIN BLAKEMORE and SHELIA JENNETT. "free radicals." The Oxford Companion to the Body. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O128-freeradicals.html

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free radicals

A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition | 2005 | | Copyright

free radicals Highly reactive molecules with an unpaired electron. See antioxidant nutrients.

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DAVID A. BENDER. "free radicals." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

DAVID A. BENDER. "free radicals." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-freeradicals.html

DAVID A. BENDER. "free radicals." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-freeradicals.html

Learn more about citation styles

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