• Corpus ID: 12111134

Monograph α-Lipoic Acid Synonyms : Thioctic acid

@inproceedings{MonographA,
  title={Monograph $\alpha$-Lipoic Acid Synonyms : Thioctic acid},
  author={}
}

• Biology, Medicine

Monograph α α α α α-Lipoic Acid Synonyms: Thioctic acid; 2-dithiolane-3 penatanoic acid; 1,2-dithiolane-3 valeric acid Pharmacokinetics α-Lipoic acid (ALA) can be synthesized by both animals and humans. 1 It seems to be readily absorbed from an oral dose and converts easily to its reduced form, dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA), in many tissues of the body. An in vitro study 2 indicated that normal mam-malian cells appear to be capable of taking up α-lipoic acid and reducing it to DHLA. The effects of both ALA and DHLA are present both intra-and extracellularly when exposed to extracellular lipoic acid, e.g. in an oral dose. α-Lipoic acid is a potent antioxidant in both fat-and water-soluble mediums. Furthermore, its antioxi-dant activity extends to both the oxidized form and its reduced form. DHLA is capable of regenerating ascor-bic acid from dehydroascorbic acid, directly regenerating vitamin C and indirectly regenerating vitamin E. 3 Researchers have found α-lipoic acid to increase intracellular glutathione 4 and coenzyme Q10 5 levels. α-Lipoic acid appears capable of chelating certain metals. It forms stable complexes with copper, manganese and zinc. 6 In animal studies, it has been found to protect from arsenic poisoning; 7 and, in both animal and in vitro studies, has been found to reduce cadmium-induced hepatotoxicity. 8 In vitro, it was found to chelate mercury from renal slices. Diabetes: Acting as a potent antioxidant, DHLA was found to protect rat pancreatic islet cells from destruction by reactive oxygen species. 10 In vitro, lipoic acid was found to stimulate glucose uptake by muscle cells in a manner similar to insulin. 11 Type 2 diabetics, given 1000 mg intravenously (I.V.), experienced a 50 percent improvement in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. 12 In an uncontrolled pilot study, 20 type 2 diabetics were given 500 mg lipoic acid I.V. for ten days. While there was an average of 30 percent increased uptake of glucose, there were no changes in either the fasting blood sugar or insulin levels. 13 Lipoic acid has been used extensively in Germany for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. 11 Lipid peroxidation is believed to play a role in the development of neuropathy. In an in vitro study, lipoic acid was found to decrease lipid peroxidation of nerve tissue. 14 ALA was found to significantly reduce the symptoms of neuropathy in a group of 20 diabetics. It should be noted that two other groups of 20 each, one receiving vitamin …