Mushroom Nutrition In Neurodegenerative Syndromes

The brain has a large potential oxidative capacity but a limited ability to counteract oxidative stress (2-4). Within the cell, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are physiologically present at minimal concentration as by-products of aerobic metabolism as well as second messengers in many signal transduction pathways and, in normal conditions, there is a steady-state balance between pro-oxidants and antioxidants which is necessary to ensure optimal efficiency of antioxidant defenses (5-8). However, when the rate of free radical generation exceeds the capacity of antioxidant defenses, oxidative stress ensues with consequential severe damage to biomolecules such as proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates (9-11).