Why is lipoic acid called "universal antioxidant"?

May 06, 2022

Lipoic acid was isolated from pig liver by American scholar reed et al. In 1950. Up to now, it can be obtained by synthetic method. As an essential nutrient, the human body can also synthesize some lipoic acid from fatty acids and cysteine, but it is far from meeting the needs. With the growth of age, the human body's ability to synthesize lipoic acid will also decline, so it needs to be supplemented by food. In plants, the highest content of lipoic acid is spinach, followed by broccoli and tomatoes. In animals, the content is mostly in the kidney and liver of animals.

It is found that lipoic acid has strong antioxidant function. It is also a known substance that can exert antioxidant ability in both fat soluble and water-soluble environments. Lipoic acid can play an anti oxidative stress role in the body by directly scavenging reactive oxygen free radicals, chelating with free metal ions and promoting the regeneration of endogenous antioxidants. Oxidative stress is the pathological basis of many diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, liver diseases and tumors. Therefore, lipoic acid can play a preventive and therapeutic role in many clinical systemic diseases.

Lipoic acid is known as "universal antioxidant" and even "strongest antioxidant" because it is both fat soluble and water-soluble. From the perspective of clinical research, the "strongest" antioxidant may be over praised when using lipoic acid alone. The reason for its limited effect may lie in its low bioavailability and very short half-life. It doesn't stay in the body at all. We can only expect lipoic acid to make a breakthrough in dosage form in the future, which may give play to the stronger effect of lipoic acid.

Nevertheless, lipoic acid has good effects, such as:

1. Lipoic acid can significantly improve insulin resistance in patients with diabetes or obese people, and can also improve neuropathy caused by diabetes;

2. Although the evidence of lipoic acid improving body fat index is inconsistent, it can help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by improving vascular function through antioxidant effect;

3. Lipoic acid is used in combination with other antioxidants or probiotics to have synergistic amplification effect;

4. In recent years, clinical studies have raised the dose to 1200mg / day, because low-dose lipoic acid can not improve various health problems;

5. The absorption and utilization rate of R lipoic acid in the dosage form is good, but the price of ordinary form is cheaper. Increasing the dose of ordinary lipoic acid may have the same effect as that of R form. You can choose according to the conditions.