[Mechanism of free radicals in gastrointestinal and liver diseases].

Free radicals produced in biological systems may be important pathologic mediators in different tissue injuries, and the present paper is devoted to overview their role in gastrointestinal and liver diseases. After giving a brief answer to the basic question what are free radicals and lipid peroxidation, on the ground of experimental findings, the significance of the free radical mechanisms has been discussed in gastric ulcerogenesis, ischaemia/reperfusion-induced intestinal injuries and inflammatory bowel diseases, in pancreatitis and alcoholic, toxic and metabolic origin liver damages. The better understanding of these tissue damaging mechanisms may provide a foundation for therapeutic breakthroughs in gastroenterology.