Therefore, vitamin C is able to react with aqueous free radicals and reactive oxygen. By viewing the structure of vitamin E, you can see that the molecule is very non-polar, the only trace of polarity is the hydroxyl group and oxygen contained in the six carbon ring. But the benzene ring and the long non-polar hydro carbon chain makes it a polar molecule. Because of the hydrophobic nature of vitamin E, it is located in biological membranes and lipoproteins. It is a chain-breaking antioxidant, which means it will disrupt the radical chain of lipid peroxidation.
Electrons usually exist in pairs.
But free radicals have an unpaired electron. Free radicals are simply extremely reactive molecules, created as a waste by-product by the body's metabolic processes. Free radicals are so destructive, that they are now regarded as primary agents of degeneration and death in all living things, and have been shown to be responsible for the initiation of heart disease, aging , cancer, and other degenerative diseases. As part of their normal function, cells make toxic molecules called free radicals. A free radical is a damaged molecule that is missing an electron.