α-Lipoic acid (6,8-thioctic acid, 1,2-dithiolane-3-pentanoic
acid, or 1,2-dithiolane-3-valeric acid) is a water insoluble
compound found in vivo, and is consumed in the form of
a supplement as an antioxidant. Lipoic acid was first
isolated in the 1950’s in the form of lipoamide it is an
essential cofactor in the mitochondrial multienzyme
complexes that catalyze oxidative decarboxylation of
α-ketoacids. It is not essential and can be synthesized by
both animals and man, although the exact biochemical
pathway remains obscure. Lipoic acid is readily absorbed
from the diet and taken up by cells. It is then reduced to
DHLA by mitochondrial lipoamide dehydrogenase
DHLA is then capable of passing through lipid bilayers
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