Role of Dietary Antioxidants in Immune System Function

Kavitha Reddy Ph.D.

sreyanutrition@gmail.com

Why are we all talking so much about antioxidants? Antioxidants are important because of
what they can do to control free radicals. What are these free radicals? These are molecules
that have an unpaired number of electrons. They are highly reactive and they interact with
other molecules by taking an electron or by donating an electron.

The reaction generally involves free radicals taking an electron from other molecule’s
structure making the molecule weak and unstable (1).

Free radicals are not always bad, they are released during normal processes in the body. But
the problem starts when the levels of free radicals increase in the body and they start
accumulating in tissues which might result in the development of degenerative diseases
such as diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer etc.

And here is where antioxidants enter the scene. Antioxidants are our arsenal which our
body uses to keep free radicals in control and protect us.

Antioxidants neutralize the harmful impact of free radicals

When the levels of free radicals increase in the body it leads to oxidative stress. It is one of
the leading causes for the incidence of chronic and degenerative illnesses such as cancer,
autoimmune disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative
diseases (2).

Antioxidants combat oxidative stress caused by free radical build-up. Antioxidants prevent
the free radicals from grabbing the electrons from other molecules and making them
unstable. Antioxidants quench the free radical’s thirst for electrons by donating their own
electrons. These antioxidants have the ability to remain stable even after giving away
electrons to free radicals. They keep free radicals from causing any type of harm to the
important components of cells.

Types of antioxidants

Our body produces antioxidants which are called endogenous antioxidants and the
antioxidants supplied by our food and supplements are exogenous antioxidants.
Antioxidants play the part of natural free radical scavengers (1).

Dietary antioxidants
Some components in the food because of their unique structure display antioxidant
mechanism in the body. The antioxidants provided by our diet along with the endogenous
antioxidants released by our body perform a crucial role in neutralizing the oxidative stress
caused by free radicals.

Our daily diet is the source of several bioactive compounds. A majority of these bioactive
components are found in plants and they are clubbed under the term phytochemicals which
means plant chemicals. Plant foods are the primary sources of antioxidants. They are found
in foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs and spices.

Most of these phytochemicals are redox active molecules and display antioxidant property
(3). Certain vitamins and minerals also exhibit antioxidant activity.

Here are a few of the dietary antioxidants

• Vitamin E
• Vitamin C
• Iron
• Zinc
• Selenium
• Copper
• Beta carotene
• Flavonoids
• Lycopene
• Lutein
• Zeaxanthin

Do dietary antioxidants have any role to play in immune function?

Immune system is our shield against any harmful foreign substance that intrudes our body
through our skin, breath or mouth. Immunity is the ability of our body to fight against
foreign organisms or abnormal cells or substances that have the capability to cause harm to
us. Immune system is our defence mechanism that consists of an entire network of cells and
tissues that guard us against any harm from outside or inside the body.

Immune system cells like any other cells in the body require oxygen radicals for metabolic
and physiological processes. The free radical production and their inactivation via
antioxidants has to be balanced for good health. Simply said if our diet provides adequate
amounts of antioxidants it prevents the build-up of free radicals/oxidative stress in immune
cells. If there is an imbalance because of lack of antioxidants it may lead to deterioration in
the immune cells because of oxidative stress (4).

Cells that use oxygen for their functions and release reactive oxygen species also develop an
intricate antioxidant linked defence system to counteract the free radicals. Due to aging or
for any other reason if the free radical concentration increases the immune function may be
affected.

A strong immune system is an indicator of good health and predictor of longevity of life.
Therefore, adequate amounts of dietary antioxidants supplementation would have
beneficial effect in correcting or preventing the imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants
in the immune system cells (4, 5).

Therefore, sufficient amounts of vitamins and antioxidant elements seem to be necessary

for effective functioning of immune system (6) as antioxidants can enhance the immune
function (2, 7).

References

1. Wildman, R. (2009) The Nutritionist-Food, Nutrition, and Optimal Health. Routledge,

Taylor and Francis Group. Second Edition. New York and London.

2. Pham-Huy, L. A., He, H. and Pham-Huy, C. (2008) Free radicals, antioxidants in

disease and health, International journal of biomedical science: IJBS. Vol. 4(2).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3614697/

3. Carlsen, M.H., Halvorsen, B.L., Holte, K., Bohn, S.K., Dragland, S., Sampson, L., Willey,
C., Senoo, H., Umezon, Y., Sanada, C., Barikmo, I., Berhe, N., Willett, W.C., Phillips,
K.M., Jacobs ,D.R. and Blomhoff ,R. (2010) The total antioxidant content of more
than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide,
Nutrition Journal. Vol. 9(3).
https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-9-3

4. Fuente, D. L. M. (2002) Effects of antioxidants on immune system ageing, European

Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vol. 56(3).
https://www.nature.com/articles/1601476.pdf?origin=ppub

5. Knight, J. A. (2000). Free radicals, antioxidants, and the immune system, Annals of
Clinical & Laboratory Science. Vol. 30(2).
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5895/7ea2a68c227a3b1541a778b6713c51125590.
pdf
6. Brambilla, D., Mancuso, C., Scuderi, M., Bosco, P., Cantarella, G., Lempereur, L.,
Benedetto, G., Pezzino, S. and Bernardini, R. (2008) The role of antioxidant
supplement in immune system, neoplastic, and neurodegenerative disorders: A
point of view for an assessment of the risk/benefit profile, Nutrition journal. Vol. 7.
(29).

7. Hajian, S. (2015) Positive effect of antioxidants on immune system,

Immunopathologia Persa. Vol. 1(1).
http://immunopathol.com/PDF/ipp-1-e02.pdf