Free radicals and oxidants are involved in physiological signaling pathways, although an imbalance between pro-oxidant and anti-oxidant systems in favor of the former leads to major biomolecular damage. This is the so-called oxidative stress, a complex process that affects us all and is responsible for the development of many diseases. Lipids are very sensitive to oxidant attack and to-date, malondialdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) and F2-isoprostane are the main biomarkers for lipid peroxidation assessment. They all derive from polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) either by enzyme-catalyzed reactions (physiological) or by non-enzyme reactions (pathological). The profile of PUFAs present in the tissue will determine the proportion of each biomarker. In this review we aim to discuss the proper method for MDA determination using HPLC. We also offer reference MDA values in humans in physiological and pathological conditions.

自由基和氧化剂参与生理信号通路，尽管有利于前者的促氧化系统和抗氧化系统之间的不平衡会导致主要的生物分子损伤。这就是所谓的氧化应激，这是一个影响我们所有人的复杂过程，并导致许多疾病的发展。脂质对氧化剂的攻击非常敏感，迄今为止，丙二醛 (MDA)、4-羟基-2-壬烯醛 (4-HNE) 和 F2-异前列烷是脂质过氧化评估的主要生物标志物。它们都来自多不饱和脂肪酸 (PUFA)，通过酶催化反应（生理）或非酶反应（病理）。组织中存在的 PUFA 谱将决定每种生物标志物的比例。在这篇综述中，我们旨在讨论使用 HPLC 测定 MDA 的正确方法。