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REVIEW article

Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Neuropharmacology
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1505153
This article is part of the Research Topic The Role of Natural and Synthetic Antioxidants in the Therapeutic Targeting of Oxidative Stress View all articles

Antioxidants in neuropsychiatric disorder prevention: neuroprotection, synaptic regulation, microglia modulation, and neurotrophic effects

Provisionally accepted
Fangfei Liu Fangfei Liu Qianqian Bai Qianqian Bai Wenchao Tang Wenchao Tang Shumin Zhang Shumin Zhang Yan Guo Yan Guo Shunji Pan Shunji Pan Xiaoyu Ma Xiaoyu Ma Yanhui Yang Yanhui Yang Hua Fan Hua Fan *
  • Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Oxidative stress, caused by an imbalance between the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the body's intrinsic antioxidant defenses, plays a critical role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's. Beyond these conditions, recent evidence indicates that dysregulated redox balance is implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and anxiety disorders. Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated the potential of antioxidants, such as N-acetylcysteine, sulforaphane, alpha-lipoic acid, L-carnitine, ascorbic acid, selenocompounds, flavones and zinc, in alleviating neuropsychiatric symptoms by mitigating excitotoxicity, enhancing synaptic plasticity, reducing microglial overactivation and promoting synaptogenesis. This review explores the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders. It provides an overview of the current evidence on antioxidant therapy's pharmacological effects, as demonstrated in animal models and clinical studies. It also discusses the underlying mechanisms and future directions for developing antioxidant-based adjuvant therapies.

    Keywords: Oxidative Stress, neuropsychiatric disorders, Antioxidants, Neuroprotection, Synaptic regulation, microglia modulation, Neurotrophic effects

    Received: 03 Oct 2024; Accepted: 22 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Bai, Tang, Zhang, Guo, Pan, Ma, Yang and Fan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hua Fan, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.