Question

How do free radicals cause cell damage? Why do free radicals in nicotine harm cells?

Answer 1

Free radicals cause cell damage in the following ways:

1. Attack the cell membrane. Free radicals attack molecules on the cell membrane and steal electrons, making the molecular structure unstable, causing the cell membrane to rupture and the cell to die.

2. Attack cell nucleus and DNA. Free radicals attack DNA molecules in the cell nucleus, causing errors in gene replication and causing cancer.

3. Attack cholesterol in blood vessels. Free radicals attack cholesterol in blood vessels, causing excessive oxidation of cholesterol, thickening of blood, and increased risks of blood clots, hyperlipidemia, etc.

4. Attack immune cells. Free radicals attack immune cells, causing damage or even death of immune cells, affecting immunity and making it easier to get infected and sick.

Answer 2

There are several reasons why the free radicals in nicotine are harmful to cells.

First, these free radicals are continuously generated during tobacco burning and smoke migration.

Nitrogen-containing substances in tobacco generate large amounts of NO, NO2 and nitrosamines during combustion, which react with alkenes produced during combustion to generate alkoxy radicals and alkane radicals.

These free radicals are highly reactive and can cause lipid peroxidation with cell membranes, thereby destroying cell membranes, impairing their biological functions, and leading to various diseases.

In addition, toxic compounds such as polypropylene and vinylcholine in nicotine will react with vitamins and various neutral substances in the body, thereby generating new compounds that are deposited on the inner walls of blood vessels, forming cholesterol and blood dirt that cannot be excreted, and It kills healthy tissue cells in a large area, reduces the proportion of red blood cells, reduces the detoxification effect of the lymphatic system, and opens the channels and doors of the immune system for various diseases.