Alpha lipoic acid is one of the most potent antioxidants known. It is found in the body in the liver and in the blood and is known to help maintain nerve function. Its main characteristic as an antioxidant is that it functions as both a water soluble and fat soluble antioxidant that is effective against a broader range of free radicals.
Lipoic acid is found in a variety of foods, notably kidney, heart and liver meats as well as spinach, broccoli and potatoes. Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is an effective antioxidant and prevents the symptoms of vitamin C and vitamin E deficiency. It is able to scavenge reactive species in vitro, though there is little or no evidence that this actually occurs in vivo. The relatively good scavenging activity of lipoic acid is due to the strained conformation of the 5-membered ring in the intramolecular disulfide.
No comments:
Post a Comment