This tutorial review highlights the mechanism of a novel non-enzymatic fast repair of DNA damage, which refers exclusively to repair DNA radicals including DNA-OH˙ adducts, DNA radical cations and anions by various endogenous, natural and synthetic compounds. The repair rate constants are as high as 109 M−1 s−1. In cells, when the enzymatic repair system was inhibited or before the enzymatic repair mechanism was initiated, DNA oxidative damage was significantly reduced by natural polyphenols. This decrease of DNA damage is assigned to the fast repair. Fast repair takes place through an electron transfer process, and docking of polyphenol into the DNA minor groove could be the essential step.
