Skip to main content

Reducing Agent

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Astrobiology
  • 219 Accesses

Definition

A reducing agent is a compound that facilitates the reduction of an oxidized compound by a coupled electron transport in an oxidation-reduction process, known as a redox reaction. The reducing agent loses the electron which is transferred to the oxidized compound. Redox reactions are fundamental in biological systems and are involved in all metabolic processes, especially in energy conservation reactions.

See

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Felipe Gomez .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this entry

Cite this entry

Gomez, F. (2014). Reducing Agent. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1357-2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1357-2

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

Publish with us

Policies and ethics