The Fenton and Haber Weiss reaction plays a significant role in oxidative stress causing numerous degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) are produced by the reaction causing oxidative stress in AD. Iron, copper and aluminum promote the formation of free radicals such as Hydroxyl radicals causing damage to DNA, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates. Hydroxyl radicals produced by Fenton reaction, causes the Aβ42 toxicity (
1,
2) in AD. Hydroxyl radicals can be produced in the presence of Ferric ions and convert soluble human fibrinogen into an insoluble fibrin- like aggregate observed in neurodegenerative diseases such as AD (
3). DNA bases can be modified by the Fenton gated oxidative stress and base substitutions G→C (in the presence of Ferrous), G→T and C→T (Copper and Nickel) (
4) by the reaction with ROS. Signal transduction molecules, such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), c-Jun N -terminal kinase (JNK), phosphoinositide 3- kinase (PI3K), p38 and transcription factors such as activator protein-1(AP-1), and p53 are activated by ROS (
4,
5). Hydroxyl radicals can damage DNA by p53 pathway and accelerate AD development. Mutation in tumor suppressor gene (TP53) is associated with AD pathogenesis (
2,
6).
Oxidative stress is mainly produced by the Fenton reaction by removal of one electron from the molecular oxygen (O2) results in the formation of superoxide (O2-) which often produces other ROS species such as H2O2 and Peroxynitrite (ONOO)-and hydroxyl radicals (OH) (
7). However under normal conditions, O2- has emerged as an important signaling molecule, which controls specific biochemical reactions and metabolic processes (
8). The link between O2- production and H2O2 can involve a reduced flavin enzyme, which transfers an electron to activate molecular oxygen into superoxide which either released or got enzymatically converted into H2O2 (
9,
10) or modified by drugs such as statins (
11).
One of the greatest challenges in the field of ROS-gated diseases is to bridge the knowledge gap between atomic and cellular level, and a greater understanding of the Fenton reaction may help to bridge this gap. In 1890, Fenton used a solution of H2O2 and Iron to oxidize contaminants of waste water. When transient metals such as iron react with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), it produces Ferric (Fe +++), hydroxyl radical (OH-) and hydroxyl ion (OH-). Hydroxyl ion (OH-) reacts with H2O2 again to produce superoxide (O2-) and hydroxyl ion (OH-).