Oxidative Stress Biomarkers as Predictors of Aging and Age-Related Diseases

Oxidative Stress (OS) is a major feature of aging and is first brought on when the generation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) surpasses the capacity of antioxidant defenses to neutralize them. Long-term exposure to ROS gradually damages vital biomolecules, resulting in the development of measurable biomarkers that indicate the degree of oxidative stress. Some forms of protein oxidation that impair enzymatic activity and interfere with cellular signaling are carbonyl compounds and advanced oxidation protein products. DNA is susceptible to OS, which can cause lesions like 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine, which indicate genomic instability and lead to cellular senescence and reduced function. Increased levels of lipid peroxidation byproducts, such as Malondialdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxynonenal (4-NHE), and isoprostanes, indicate disturbed cellular balance and compromised membrane integrity. Additional information about the redox state can be found in antioxidant defenses. While important enzymatic antioxidants like glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase frequently show altered activity as one ages, indicating a reduced ability to counteract ROS, non-enzymatic antioxidants like glutathione, vitamins C and E, uric acid, bilirubin, and beta carotene provide extra defense but diminish with age. Combined, these biomarkers show how oxidative damage accumulates gradually and how the body’s cellular defenses progressively deteriorate. By mapping their trajectories, we can better understand the biology of aging and develop targeted interventions and early detection tools to promote healthy aging. In this review, we summarized various OS biomarkers that help in the prediction of aging and age-related diseases.