Oxidative Stress, Immunity, and Antioxidant Phytochemicals: From Bench Evidence to Clinical Relevance

Oxidative Stress, Immunity, and Antioxidant Phytochemicals: From Bench Evidence to Clinical Relevance

Ngugi Mwaura J.

School of Natural and Applied Sciences Kampala International University Uganda

ABSTRACT

Oxidative stress and inflammation are tightly intertwined drivers of acute and chronic disease. Antioxidant phytochemicals-plant-derived polyphenols, carotenoids, organosulfur compounds and related small molecules-modulate redox balance and reprogram immune responses through multi-layered mechanisms that extend beyond simple radical scavenging. Preclinical models demonstrate that phytochemicals (for example, resveratrol, curcumin, quercetin, EGCG, lutein, sulforaphane) regulate Nrf2- and NF-κB-dependent transcription, restrain inflammasome activation, alter kinase signaling (MAPK, JAK-STAT), shape immune cell metabolism and epigenetics, and interact with the gut microbiome to generate bioactive metabolites. Clinical translation has produced promising biomarker changes and condition-specific benefits, but large-scale, consistent clinical efficacy is limited by low oral bioavailability, heterogenous formulations, variable dosing, and incomplete mechanistic bridging (PK–PD). This review synthesizes current mechanistic and translational evidence, highlights clinical studies and limitations, and proposes priorities standardized preparations, PK–PD mapping, targeted patient selection, and microbiome-aware strategies to move antioxidant phytochemicals from bench to bedside.

Keywords: Antioxidant phytochemicals, Oxidative stress, Immune modulation, Nrf2 / NF-κB signaling, Translational pharmacology

 

CITE AS: Ngugi Mwaura J. (2026). Oxidative Stress, Immunity, and Antioxidant Phytochemicals: From Bench Evidence to Clinical Relevance. IDOSR JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND ALLIED FIELDS 11(1):11-15.  https://doi.org/10.59298/IDOSR/JBBAF/2026/1021115