Oxidation is defined as the interaction between oxygen molecules and all the different substances they may contact,

from metal to living tissue. Technically, however, with the discovery of electrons, oxidation came to be more precisely defined as the loss of at least one electron when two or more substances interact. Those substances may or may not include oxygen. (Incidentally, the opposite of oxidation is reduction the addition of at least one electron when substances come into contact with each other.) Sometimes oxidation is not such a bad thing, as in the formation of super-durable anodized aluminum. Other times, oxidation can be destructive, such as the rusting of an automobile or the spoiling of fresh fruit. Reduction- A chemical reaction in which hydrogen is added to, or oxygen is removed from, a compound. Opposite of oxidation.

A reducing agent (also called a reductant or reducer) is the element or compound in a reductionoxidation (redox) reaction that donates an electron to another species; however, since the reducer loses an electron we say it is "oxidized". This means that there must be an "oxidizer"; because if any chemical is an electron donor (reducer), another must be an electron recipient (oxidizer). Thus reducers are "oxidized" and oxidizers are "reduced". An oxidizing agent (also called an oxidant, oxidizer or oxidiser) can be defined as a substance that removes electrons from another reactant in a redox chemical reaction. The oxidizing agent is "reduced" by taking electrons onto itself and the reactant is "oxidized" by having its electrons taken away. Oxygen is the prime example of an oxidizing agent, but it is only one among many. An oxidizing agent (also called an oxidizer or oxidant) is referred to as a chemical compound that readily transfers oxygen atoms or a substance that gains electrons in a redox chemical reaction. The permanganate ion removes electrons from oxalic acid molecules and thereby oxidizes the oxalic acid. Thus, the MnO4- ion acts as an oxidizing agent in this reaction. Oxalic acid, on the other hand, is a reducing agent in this reaction. By giving up electrons, it reduces the MnO4- ion to Mn2+. coenzyme, Any of a number of freely diffusing organic compounds that function as cofactors withenzymes in promoting a variety of metabolic reactions. Coenzymes participate in enzymemediatedcatalysis in stoichiometric (mole-for-mole) amounts, are modified during the reaction, and may require another enzyme-catalyzed reaction to restore them to their original state. coenzyme A nonproteinaceous organic substance that usually contains a vitamin or mineral and combines with a specific protein, the apoenzyme, to form an active enzyme system.