Multicomponent Investigations of the Hydrogen Peroxide- and Hydroxyl Radical-Scavenging Antioxidant Capacities of Biofluids: The Roles of Endogenous Pyruvate and Lactate Relevance to Inflammatory Joint Diseases

High field proton (¹H) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis of biofluids (healthy human blood sera and inflammatory knee-joint synovial fluids) has been employed to evaluate the hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)- and hydroxyl radical (°OH)- scavenging antioxidant capacities of a range of polar, low-molecular-mass endogenous metabolites therein. Data obtained indicate that consumption of H₂O₂ by pyruvate (generating acetate and CO₂ via an oxidative decarboxylation reaction) and °OH radical by lactate (generating pyruvate, and subs quently acetate and CO₂) may serve to protect alternative biofluid components (e.g., macromolecules) against reactive oxygen species-mediated oxidative damage in vivo. The mechanistic, physiological and potential therapeutic implications of these results are discussed with special reference to inflammatory joint diseases.