Background
Several low-molecular-weight phenolic acids are present in the blood of septic patients at high levels [1, 2]. The microbial origin of the most of phenylcarboxylic acids in the human body was shown previously [3], but the pathophysiological role of phenolic acids is not clear. It was shown that microbial phenolic acids produce either the antioxidant or the pro-oxidant action on mitochondria depending on the chemical structure [4]. In this work the influence of phenolic acids on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in mitochondria and neutrophils was investigated.