Questions: How do antioxidant minerals stabilize free radicals?
donate electrons or hydrogens
Transcript text: How do antioxidant minerals stabilize free radicals?
donate electrons or hydrogens
Solution
The answer is the last one: donate electrons or hydrogens.
Explanation for each option:
Phagocytosis: This is a process where cells, such as white blood cells, engulf and digest foreign particles or pathogens. It is not directly related to how antioxidant minerals stabilize free radicals.
Enzymatic destruction: While enzymes can play a role in neutralizing free radicals, antioxidant minerals themselves do not stabilize free radicals through enzymatic destruction. Instead, they may act as cofactors for enzymes that perform this function.
Break down and convert them to less damaging molecules: This option is somewhat related but not entirely accurate. Antioxidants do not typically break down free radicals; instead, they neutralize them by other means.
Donate electrons or hydrogens: This is the correct answer. Antioxidant minerals stabilize free radicals by donating electrons or hydrogen atoms, which neutralizes the free radicals and prevents them from causing cellular damage.
In summary, antioxidant minerals stabilize free radicals primarily by donating electrons or hydrogens, thereby neutralizing the free radicals and preventing oxidative damage.