antioxidant

noun antioxidants

1. Any substance that slows or prevents the oxidation of another chemical.
2. One of a group of vitamins that act against the effects of free radicals. Although BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are avoided by some consumers because several studies have suggested they may be toxic or carcinogenic (they are banned in Britain), these antioxidants have also been shown to inhibit the action of cancer-causing chemicals, a

Opposite: oxidant

adjective

1. not comparable Acting or having agents that act against oxidation. In Philasterides dicentrarchi, a scuticociliate pathogen of turbot, resveratrol causes oxidative stress, inhibition of antioxidant enzymes and morphological alterations in the mitochondria [17 ,54 ].