Systemic Redox Imbalance in Chronic Disease: Are Antioxidants the Missing Link in Multiorgan Protection?

Twesigye Davis

Department of Pharmacognosy Kampala International University Uganda

Email: twesigyedavis@studwc.kiu.ac.ug

                                                               ABSTRACT
Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and chronic inflammatory conditions share a common pathological thread: systemic redox imbalance. This imbalance reflects a disruption between the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) and the body’s antioxidant defenses, resulting in sustained oxidative stress that drives cellular dysfunction, inflammation, and tissue injury across multiple organs. While ROS act as essential mediators of physiological signaling, excessive ROS accumulation overwhelms endogenous antioxidant systems, contributing to mitochondrial dysfunction, endothelial damage, immune dysregulation, genomic instability, and metabolic disturbances. Recent research has increasingly focused on whether augmenting antioxidant capacity, either through dietary, pharmacological, or novel molecular approaches, can mitigate oxidative damage and confer multiorgan protection. Clinical and preclinical studies suggest that enhancing antioxidant defense may bolster tissue resilience and reduce complications in chronic disease. However, clinical trials have yielded mixed results, and unresolved questions remain regarding optimal antioxidant types, dosing strategies, bioavailability, timing of intervention, and organ-specific targeting. This review synthesizes current understanding of systemic redox imbalance in chronic disease, critically examines the role of antioxidants in modulating redox homeostasis, and

explores future directions for integrating antioxidant strategies into multiorgan protection paradigms.

Keywords: oxidative stress, redox imbalance, chronic disease, antioxidants, multiorgan protection.

CITE AS: Twesigye Davis (2026). Systemic Redox Imbalance in Chronic Disease: Are Antioxidants the Missing Link in Multiorgan Protection?. NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES 7(2):30-35.
https://doi.org/10.59298/NIJBAS/2026/7.2.3035