Distribution study of orally administered lipoic acid in rat brain tissues

Alpha-lipoic acid protects against 6-hydroxydopamine-induced neurotoxicity in a rat model of hemi-parkinsonism

“…In addition, it has been shown that LA is easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, is able to cross the blood-brain barrier, and does not exhibit any serious side effects (Malinska and Winiarska, 2005). However, Chng et al (2009) have shown that oral administration of LA at a dose of 50 mg/kg could barely cross this barrier and perhaps its possible effect at this dose may be due to its indirect effect which itself needs further investigation.…”

Alpha-lipoic acid as a dietary supplement: Molecular mechanisms and therapeutic potential

“…A more recent study, however, did not find significant levels of LA in the brain after oral gavage of 50 mg/kg b.w. in rats [28], particularly after correcting for residual blood volume. In light of the clinical benefits LA has on the brain, further research should attempt to measure not only LA, but its metabolites and its reduced form, dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA), any of which may exert therapeutic effects.…”

A sensitive LC/MS/MS bioanalysis assay of orally administered lipoic acid in rat blood and brain tissue

“…The accuracy ranged from 91.2 to 116.17% for intra-day assay and 102.68 to 114.33% for interday assay. This method was successfully employed to analyze LA in blood and brain pharmacokinetic (PK) samples and enabled the detection of endogenous levels of LA [13]. This sensitive, accurate and precise LC/MS/MS method will play an important role in the determination of the basal endogenous levels of LA in the biological system.…”