A Review of Laboratory Methods for Measuring Oxidative Stress

Antioxidant defense system, including enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, protects cells from oxidative damage by neutralizing oxidant compounds. Increasing the production of oxidant species and decrease activity of antioxidant system causes oxidative stress. The role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of human diseases and strengthening of human antioxidant defense system in preventing and ameliorating of diseases have been shown in numerous studies. Therefore, identifying reliable oxidative stress markers for evaluating the beneficial effects of antioxidants in human diseases has been the focus of many studies over the past decades. Measuring free radicals and active species by flow cytometry, determining the total antioxidant capacity of body fluids, measuring the oxidation products of macromolecules, determining the activity of antioxidant enzymes, and changing the expression of genes related to the antioxidant system are among these methods. This review discussed the major advantages and limitations of these methods.

Due to limitations and potential confounding factors of the current markers of oxidative stress, an appropriate experimental protocol should be used for each study and caution should be taken in the interpretation of results. Furthermore, more than one method should be used to overcome the limitations of each marker.