Free radicals and reactive oxygen species have the potential to damage a wide variety of organic molecules, typically by oxidizing certain moieties. These damaging species can, for example, be produced by an organism as a by-product of cellular respiration or by the reaction of iron(II) and peroxide. The present invention includes methods of using aryl-substituted heterocyclic iron chelating compounds as antioxidants, as well as preventing the reduction of iron(III) to iron(II). In addition, the present invention provides methods of treating conditions such as inflammatory disease, neoplastic disease, and ischemic episodes.