α-Lipoic Acid Enhances Reduced Glutathione, Ascorbic Acid, and α-Tocopherol in Aged Rats

Abstract

It is hypothesized that a reduction in the level of antioxidants with age leads to an impairment in the quenching of free radicals, which in turn increases the risk of succumbing to ageassociated disorders. Male albino rats of Wistar strain (both young and aged rats) were treated with lipoic acid for 7 and 14 days. Analyses were carried out in blood, liver, kidney, and brain for lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione, ascorbic acid, and a-tocopherol. The levels of reduced glutathione, and vitamins C and E were found to be lowered in aged rats, whereas the level of lipid peroxidation was found to be high. After intraperitoneal administration of lipoate (a thiol antioxidant) to the aged rats, a time-dependent reduction in the level of lipid peroxidation and elevation in the levels of reduced glutathione, and vitamins C and E were observed. From our observations, we conclude that lipoic acid, a dithiol, normalizes lipid peroxidation and prevents the oxidation of reduced glutathione, possibly through recycling mechanisms, thereby maintaining normal metabolic function. Thus, lipoic acid supplementation could be beneficial in minimizing age-associated disorders where free radicals are the major cause. 265

Alleviating Effect of α-Lipoic Acid and Magnesium on Cadmium-Induced Inflammatory Processes, Oxidative Stress and Bone Metabolism Disorders in Wistar Rats

“…The literature proves that both Mg and α-LA inhibit the absorption of Cd by the body, affect its distribution, and reduce its concentration in tissues [10,11,12,13]. In our experiment, this effect, as well as other protective impacts of these substances, were partly masked as a result of increased feed intake by the supplemented animals and, consequently, relatively higher cadmium exposure.…”

“…In our experiment, we investigated the protective potential of α-lipoic acid (α-LA, a strong antioxidant and metal chelator) [12,13] and magnesium (Mg, an antioxidant, an element of broad biological importance) [10,11] in alleviating cadmium-induced inflammatory and pro-oxidative processes, changes in blood morphology, disorders of bone metabolism, and renal and liver function.…”

“…Literature data report that α-lipoic acid administered to rats at doses of 25–100 mg/kg of body weight increases GSH levels and protects kidneys from cisplatin-related damage [12]. Intraperitoneal administration of α-lipoic acid to older rats at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight for 7 and 14 days increased the level of antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E, and reduced glutathione) and reduced the level of lipid peroxidation in the brain [13]. In order to reduce the animals’ stress, we administered α-lipoic acid orally, and the applied dose was comparable with the therapeutic doses used in the above-mentioned studies and equaled 100 mg/kg body weight, four times per week.…”

“…It is a saturated fatty acid in which three carbon atoms together with two sulfur atoms form a dithiolane ring. It is a strong antioxidant of both water and lipid phases, regenerates other antioxidants (e.g., vitamin E, vitamin C, glutathione), and is able to chelate heavy metals and reduce their toxicity [12,13].…”

Effects of dietary α-lipoic acid on the growth and antioxidative responses of juvenile abalone Haliotis discus hannai Ino

“…It has been demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo that LA has a number of potentially beneficial effects in the prevention and treatment of oxygen‐related diseases (Biewenga, Haenen & Bast 1997; Çakatay 2006). Most studies, however, have been carried out in terrestrial vertebrates (Arivazhagan, Shila, Kumaran & Panneerselvam 2002; Arivazhagan, Shila, Narchonai & Panneerselvam 2002; Chae, Shin & Kim 2008; Fujita, Shiosaka & Ogino 2008), and to our knowledge, only a few studies have focused on aquatic animals. South American pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg), fed with a diet devoid of ascorbic acid, reduced the tissue content of this antioxidant, but this effect was partially reversed with the supplementation of LA (1000 mg kg −1 ) in the diet (Park, Terjesen, Tesser, Portella & Dabrowski 2006).…”