Integrative redox biology
During the last decade, the area of redox biology (also known as free radical biology or oxidative stress biology) has witnessed many remarkable developments. Reactive species have been found to serve a multitude of diverse purposes, from controlling the signalling of intracellular pathways, to enzyme activation and to antibiotic synthesis. At the same time, the significance of reactive species (also referred to as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and includes free radicals) has been further underlined by the emerging links between cellular redox events and many human diseases. In addition, from the initial belief that reactive species and oxidative stress were largely harmful entities (i.e., produced via uncontrolled processes) to the currently supported view that they also serve useful purposes (i.e., produced via controlled processes), a lot of development has been attained. As a result of this progress in basic redox biology, the subfield of redox biology of exercise has also markedly advanced. From the largely descriptive nature of the first attempts on this field using crude techniques to the today’s studies addressing the effects of reactive species employing state of the art analytical techniques, a large volume of knowledge has been accumulated. Our central aim is to explore the potential biochemical mechanisms through which exercise may interfere with muscle and whole body function, and whether alterations in free radical concentration through redox agent supplementation favours or disturbs the smooth function of an organism.