Dietary supplementation with (R)-alpha-lipoic acid reverses the age-related accumulation of iron and depletion of antioxidants in the rat cerebral cortex.

[rs1...@techemail.com]

Redox Rep. 2005;10(1):52-60.

Dietary supplementation with (R)-alpha-lipoic acid reverses the
age-related accumulation of iron and depletion of antioxidants in the
rat cerebral cortex.

Suh JH, Moreau R, Heath SH, Hagen TM.

Department Biochemistry and Biophysics, Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon
State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA.

Accumulation of divalent metal ions (e.g. iron and copper) has been
proposed to contribute to heightened oxidative stress evident in aging
and neurodegenerative disorders. To understand the extent of iron
accumulation and its effect on antioxidant status, we monitored iron
content in the cerebral cortex of F344 rats by inductively coupled
plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and found that the
cerebral iron levels in 24-28-month-old rats were increased by 80%
(p<0.01) relative to 3-month-old rats. Iron accumulation correlated
with a decline in glutathione (GSH) and the GSH/GSSG ratio, indicating
that iron accumulation altered antioxidant capacity and thiol redox
state in aged animals. Because (R)-alpha-Lipoic acid (LA) is a potent
chelator of divalent metal ions in vitro and also regenerates other
antioxidants, we monitored whether feeding LA (0.2% [w/w]; 2 weeks)
could lower cortical iron and improve antioxidant status. Results show
that cerebral iron levels in old LA-fed animals were lower when
compared to controls and were similar to levels seen in young rats.
Antioxidant status and thiol redox state also improved markedly in old
LA-fed rats versus controls. These results thus show that LA
supplementation may be a means to modulate the age-related accumulation
of cortical iron content, thereby lowering oxidative stress associated
with aging.

PMID: 15829111 [PubMed - in process]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15829111

[Darwin]

(R)-alpha-lipoic acid was used in this study. I wonder if racemic ALA would
work as well.

[beni]

What is the human quantity equivalent to what they got?
will racemic do the same?
beni.

[Michael C Price]

Hi Beni;

> What is the human quantity equivalent to what they got?
> will racemic do the same?
> beni.

0.2% is about 2gm/d for a human.

Cheers,
Michael C Price
----------------------------------------
http://mcp.longevity-report.com
http://www.hedweb.com/manworld.htm

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