Dietary interventions through supplementation with antioxidant compounds

Abstract

Dietary supplements (DS) are manufactured products consisting of one or more dietary ingredients; they are intended to supplement the diet and provide additional nutrients or other beneficial compounds that are lacking or insufficient in a regular diet. Dietary supplements containing antioxidant compounds have been shown to have positive effects in various (pato)physiological processes, i.e., any condition that is fundamentally redox imbalanced (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, aging, intense exercise). The most common antioxidants in dietary supplements are clearly antioxidant micronutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, and selenium, but also various secondary plant compounds, including polyphenols and carotenoids. The dosage of antioxidants administered through dietary supplements may not always be optimal, so some dietary interventions through supplementation with antioxidant compounds have been shown to have an effect that it is limited, or completely absent. Therefore, any dietary supplementation should be done only under appropriate guidance from health care professionals to ensure that it is safe, effective, and appropriate for the individual's condition and needs.

Dijetetski suplementi (DS) ili dodaci ishrani su proizvodi koji sadrže jedan ili više sastojaka i primenjuju se kao dopuna ishrani, odnosno imaju posebnu nutritivnu namenu. Brojni su naučni dokazi koji sugerišu da DS koji sadrže antioksidativna jedinjenja imaju blagotvorno dejstvo u različitim (pato)fiziološkim procesima, odnosno bilo kom stanju koje u osnovi ima narušenu redoks ravnotežu (kardiovaskularne bolesti, rak, starenje, intenzivno vežbanje). Najčešći antioksidansi u dodacima ishrani su antioksidativni mikronutrijenti kao što su vitamin C, vitamin E, selen, i cink, ali i različiti sekundarni biljni metaboliti, uključujući polifenole i karotenoide. Posebna pažnja mora biti usmerena na doze i dužinu suplementacije. Neadekvatna primena antioksidanasa putem dijetetskih suplemenata često ishoduje time da dijetarne intervencije suplementacijom antioksidativnim jedinjenjima imaju ograničen efekat ili on kompletno izostane. Stoga ove ali i sve druge dijetarne suplementacije treba sprovoditi isključivo u skladu sa uputstvima zdravstvenih radnika kako bi se osigurali njihova efikasnost i bezbednost, ali i prikladnost za stanje i potrebe pojedinca.