Figure 1.

The generation of reactive aldehydes through the initiation, propagation, and termination stages of lipid peroxidation. For simplicity, Figure 1 shows the generation of reactive aldehydes from a C18 fatty acid; however, in cells, the fatty acids are largely esterified within phospholipids. Furthermore, reactive aldehydes can also occur in esterified form, which may also form adducts with proteins and other macromolecules, although this is a less well studied area.