Aim: Of the many biological targets of oxidative stress, lipids are the most involved class of biomolecules. Lipid oxidation gives rise to a number of secondary products. Malondialdehyde (MDA) is the principal and most studied product of polyunsaturated fatty acid peroxidation. This aldehyde is a highly toxic molecule and should be considered as more than just a marker of lipid peroxidation. Its interaction with DNA and proteins has often been referred to as potentially mutagenic and atherogenic. This review is intended to briefly describe the physiological origin of MDA, to highlight its toxicity, describe and comment on the most recent methods of detection and discuss its occurrence and significance in pathology.
Data synthesis: In vivo origin as well as reactivity and consequent toxicity of MDA are reviewed. The most recent and improved procedures for the evaluation of MDA in biological fluids are described and discussed. The evidence of the occurrence of increased MDA levels in pathology is described.
Conclusions: In the assessment of MDA, the most common methods of detection are insufficiently sensitive and disturbed by interference coming from related species or overestimation derived from stressing analysis conditions. Moreover, no recent nutritional or medical trials report the use of one of the new and more reliable methods, some of which are undoubtedly accessible to virtually all the laboratories provided with a common HPLC or a spectrofluorimeter.