The antioxidant action of СО2-one of the universal mechanisms of carboxytherapy

Abstract

Carboxytherapy (carbon dioxide treatment) is a promising area and an alternative method of treating many diseases. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is constantly present in the body, being the end product of cellular metabolism. It accumulates in tissues, diffuses into the blood, and is transferred to the lungs in three forms: dissolved in plasma, in bicarbonates, and as oxyhemoglobin in erythrocytes. CO2 is totally indispensable for the normal course of biochemical, humoral, and tissue processes in the body, as it is a pacemaker of these processes. Materials and research methods. Scientific publications in foreign and domestic journals on relevant topics over the past 5 years, Internet resources. Research results and their discussion. Analysis of the above changes in the body under the action of CO2 and states of biochemical markers (ADMA and d-ROM, ROS, NO, NOS) under oxidative stress indicate that CO2 has antioxidant properties, and carboxytherapy is a pathogenetic therapy for diseases which pathogenesis includes oxidative stress. The ROS-inhibitory effect of CO2 is universal for different cell types and, obviously, for different species of living organisms. Conclusions. Thus, it has been established that CO2 is a universal inhibitor of the reactive oxygen species generation by various human and animal cells. These data allow explaining the physiological and pathophysiological (medical) effects of CO2 in the mechanism of carboxytherapy in a new way from the standpoint of the biochemical role of ROS.