How are free radicals formed?

There are many trace elements in people's living environment, and our body also needs many trace elements, such as calcium, iron, zinc, etc. Otherwise, it is easy to cause abnormalities in the body. Free radicals are a kind of chemical trace elements that exist around people. Most people don't know about this trace element. They don't know how free radicals are formed. How are free radicals formed?

First, how are free radicals formed? During the metabolism process, the body produces many free radical intermediates in the process of enzyme-catalyzed electron transfer. Certain drugs exert their effects in the body in the active form of free radical intermediates. The metabolism of active oxygen in the body produces free radicals, and excessive exercise produces free radicals due to lack of oxygen.

Second, free radicals, also known as "free radicals" in chemistry, refer to atoms or groups with unpaired electrons formed when the covalent bonds of the molecules of a compound undergo homolytic cleavage under external conditions such as light and heat. (When a covalent bond is broken unevenly, the shared electron pair between the two atoms is completely transferred to one of the atoms, resulting in the formation of positively and negatively charged ions. This type of breakage is called heterolytic bond cleavage.)

Third, radiation can act on living organisms directly or indirectly, causing the molecules of the organism's tissue components to ionize and generate a small amount of free radicals, causing damage to the body.

Living organisms contain a large amount of water. Radiation first decomposes water to produce highly active free radicals, such as oxygen free radicals and hydroxyl free radicals. Oxygen free radicals and hydroxyl free radicals can produce a variety of oxidative effects, such as destroying various tissues and cells of the body.

How are free radicals formed? There are various free radicals or substances that produce free radicals in our environment, such as hydrocarbons emitted by cars, carbon free radicals and halogen atoms produced by the decomposition of Freon by light, nicotine free radicals produced by smoking, ozone converted into peroxide free radicals, certain foods with increased free radical content over time, fumes produced during cooking, certain lipids containing free radical precursors and peroxides, certain drugs, hormones and steroids metabolized in the body to produce free radicals, etc. When these substances are absorbed or contacted by the human body, they can easily generate free radicals.