The protective role of nutritional antioxidants against oxidative stress in thyroid disorders

Abstract

An imbalance between pro-oxidative and antioxidative cellular mechanisms is oxidative stress (OxS) which may be systemic or organ-specific. Although OxS is a consequence of normal body and organ physiology, severely impaired oxidative homeostasis results in DNA hydroxylation, protein denaturation, lipid peroxidation, and apoptosis, ultimately compromising cells’ function and viability. The thyroid gland is an organ that exhibits both oxidative and antioxidative processes. In terms of OxS severity, the thyroid gland’s response could be physiological (i.e. hormone production and secretion) or pathological (i.e. development of diseases, such as goitre, thyroid cancer, or thyroiditis). Protective nutritional antioxidants may benefit defensive antioxidative systems in resolving pro-oxidative dominance and redox imbalance, preventing or delaying chronic thyroid diseases. This review provides information on nutritional antioxidants and their protective roles against impaired redox homeostasis in various thyroid pathologies. We also review novel findings related to the connection between the thyroid gland and gut microbiome and analyze the effects of probiotics with antioxidant properties on thyroid diseases.