The hydroxyl radical, is the neutral form of the hydroxide ion (OH–). It is produced from the decomposition of hydroperoxides (ROOH) by the reaction of an elevation in energy level above an arbitrary baseline energy state molecular oxygen with water.
The hydroxyl radical is highly reactive and has a very short in vivo half-life of approx. 10−9 s This makes it a very dangerous compound to the organism. Hydroxyl radical cannot be eliminated by an enzymatic reaction and can damage virtually all types of macromolecules: carbohydrates, nucleic acids (mutations), lipids (lipid peroxidation) and amino acids, that makes it a very danger compound to shorten the life span of human being.
