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The free radical hypothesis of aging proposes that deleterious actions of oxygen-derived radicals are responsible for the functional deterioration associated with aging. Because cellular membranes house the production apparatus of these radicals and because membranes suffer great damage from these radicals, modification of membrane lipids has been proposed to play a major role in the process of aging. Although the relationships between lipid peroxidation and aging have been investigated extensively, the studies have produced conflicting results. Increased lipid peroxidation and decreased antioxidant protection frequently occur, but they are not universal features of aging. Instead, age-dependent changes in these parameters appear to be species-, strain-, sex- and tissue specific. Potential correlations between lipid peroxidation and transition metal concentrations or between lipid peroxidation and declining antioxidant protection have been obscured by the contradictory nature of the findings. Future studies should focus on new approaches for the measurement in vivo lipid peroxidation and on identification of the critical targets of lipid peroxidation.

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