Determining Oxidizing and Reducing Agents

[JNew]

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When determining oxidizing and reducing agents, do you consider the whole compound that was let's say oxidized as the reducing agent or just the individual atom that was oxidized as the reducing agent? (Don't have a good example off hand; hopefully you will get what I mean.)

 

[iamgosu]

overall compound
Lithium Aluminum Hydride (LAH) is a reducing agent.
the individual hydrides get oxidized, but you wouldn't consider the individual H-'s to be the "reducing agents".