Abstract

There is a high level of interest in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) because of their purported health benefits, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). But a high intake of them may increase the susceptibility to lipid peroxidation of a biological system. Lipid peroxidation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases including atherosclerosis, diabetes, cancer and aging. It is well established that the end-products of lipid peroxidation cause protein damage by means of reactions with lysine amino groups, cysteine sulfhydryl groups, and histidine imidazole groups. PUFAs in tissue are important sources for the formation of endogenous protein adducts, the relative contribution of different PUFAs in the formation of these protein adducts has been reviewed.

Keywords: Lipid peroxidation, protein modification, free radical, reactive aldehyde