oxidation reactions can produce free radicals, which start chain reactions that damage cells. Antioxidants terminate these chain reactions by removing free radical intermediates, and inhibit other oxidation reactions by being oxidized themselves. As a result, antioxidants are often reducing agents such as thiols, ascorbic acid or compounds addition to these uses of natural antioxidants in medicine, preventing have many industrial uses, such as preservatives in food and cosmetics and the degradation of rubber and gasoline. The term antioxidant originally was used to refer specifically chemical that prevented the consumption of oxygen. In the late 19th and early 20th century, extensive study was devoted to the uses of antioxidants in important industrial processes, such prevention of metal corrosion, the vulcanization of rubber, and the polymerization of fuels in fouling of internal combustion engines. What does the topic of this above paragraph?