What is Lipid Peroxidation?

Lipid peroxidation is an essential activity in our body that affects how our organ age and function1, 2

Organ lipids are the outer and inner lining of organs that protect the intracellular neighbors, like the skin on our body. Lipid lining reduces thickness as peroxidation damage cumulates and as a result cell gets damaged and aged.

Eventually the cells in our organ weaken and overall intracellular condition weaken and these cells stop functioning or die.

The effect of lipid peroxidation activity in human body accumulates as we age, in spite of the fact that our bodies provide natural defences against these activities1.

As we age, these defences weaken and the cumulative effects damage our cells. Thereby affecting cellular and organ functions1, 3.

  • 1_

    HEALTHY CELLS

  • 2_

    LIPID PEROXIDATION DAMAGE

  • 3_

    DAMAGED CELLS

Some cells, like those found in the heart, liver, lung, kidney and brain, are most affected by lipid peroxidation because they are exposed to these damages more frequently.

Membrane lipids protect the organs and its vital functions

Our body is made up of cells, the building blocks of life. Every organ in our body (heart, liver, kidney, brain, etc.) is made up of cells. These organs provide the body with vital functions.

As we age, our cells get damaged by lipid peroxidation activities, this happens throughout our lives, the cumulative damage is most prominent as we aged2, 3.

Eventually, the rate of damage will outpace the body’s own repair and replacement capabilities, causing our cells and organs to age and stop functioning properly. Therefore, lipid peroxidation damage is the biological clock in organ ageing.

Organ ageing and related disease can also be caused by stress, smoking, obesity and a poor diet.

Lipid peroxidation damages are connected to organ ageing & diseases

Besides ageing, numerous studies indicated lipid peroxidation as a major cause of neurodegenerative, organ disease and cancer3.

Many scientific studies have shown good evidence between lipid peroxidation damage and organ ageing & disease4, 5, 6.

For example, the lipid peroxidation damages and triggers inflammatory reactions in the arterial wall, initiating and promoting atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD)5.

More recently, lipid peroxidation damage is associated with liver, kidney and neurodegenerative diseases7, 8, 9, 10.

Without the reduction

of lipid peroxidation damage,

our cells age and die.

Scientists know a lot about lipid peroxidation damage, and they continue to find new evidence about the role it play in the ageing process.

Background

Research Studies

Today & Tomorrow

Scientists made the link between lipid peroxidation damage and organ ageing nearly 40 years ago12.

 Hundreds of scientists including Nobel Prize winners have contributed to lipid peroxidation studies through the field of lipid science13. There are more than 104,000 scientific journals and over 7,500 books published specifically on lipid peroxidation.
The body defence against lipid peroxidation damage was first observed in the 1970s11, intervention studies to mitigate lipid peroxidation reduction prevent organ damage is at an early stage. In 2005 and 2009, studies from Harvard Medical School and Imperial College London have both shown lipid peroxidation damage to be a root cause of cellular ageing14, 15. An ever increasing number of scientists continue to study lipid peroxidation and the benefits of stopping or possibly reversing the lipid peroxidation damage that happens as we age.