Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
macrophage69alpha
New member
found this paltry article.. the author seems overly confident 
The majority of products currently on the market, in point of fact all, contain the racemic mixture of r-ALA and s-ALA.
The racemic mixture does give some of the benefits of r-ALA, but it does not give all of them. For those benefits that the racemic mixture does impart it requires much higher dosages to achieve the same effects than with r-ALA.
How much better is r-ALA?
For glucose disposal it is estimated that it takes AT LEAST three times the amount of racemic ALA to match the effects of r-ALA.
This is in part due to the fact that s-ALA does not improve plasma free fatty acids[1], has a negative impact on glucose transport (GLUT4) proteins[2] and also increases insulin levels[3]. It is likely that due to the increase in insulin the racemic mixture can never
deliver the same benefits as the pure r-ALA. The other important facet of ALA is its benefit as a potent anti-oxidant.
The anti-oxidant effects of racemic mixtures are quite varied and depend on the tissue. With administration of racemic mixtures the s-ALA often negates much of the value of the R-ala in many tissues. The main method by which ALA is effective as an anti-oxidant is through its reduction to Di-Hydro-Lipoic Acid (DHLA). In tissues like the brain[4], heart [5] [6], kidneys and retina[7] the s-ALA enantiomer blocks the enzymatic reduction of r-ALA to DHLA.
While s-ALA is sometimes reduced in these tissues, it is at 1/7 to 1/24 of the rate reduction of r-ALA. In some tissues, including the retina, it has no effect at all other than to block the reduction of r-ALA[8].
The above essentially means that the removal of the s-ALA enantiomer is absolutely necessary to achieve the affects that are promised
by the research.
What it also means is that r-ALA is far superior to the racemic mixtures that are currently available in most, not all, aspects of application.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Am J Physiol 1997 Jul;273(1 Pt 1):E185-91 Differential effects of lipoic acid
stereoisomers on glucose metabolism in insulin-resistant skeletal muscle. Streeper RS,
Henriksen EJ, Jacob S, Hokama JY, Fogt DL, Tritschler HJ. Department of Physiology,
University of Arizona, Tucson 85721-0093, USA.
[2] ibid
[3] ibid
[4] Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2002 May 14;99(10):7184-5 Memory loss in old
rats is associated with brain mitochondrial decay and RNA/DNA oxidation:
partial reversal by feeding acetyl-L-carnitine and/or R-alpha –lipoic acid.
Liu J, Head E, Gharib AM, Yuan W, Ingersoll RT, Hagen TM, Cotman CW, Ames
BN.Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
[5] J Mol Cell Cardiol 1995 Sep;27(9):1895-903 Dose/response curves
of lipoic acid R-and S-forms in the working rat heart during reoxygenation:
superiority of the R-enantiomer in enhancement of aortic flow. Zimmer G, Beikler TK,
Schneider M, Ibel J, Tritschler H, Ulrich H. Gustav-Embden-Zentrum,
Biologischen Chemie, Universitatsklinikum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
[6] Biochem Pharmacol 1995 Aug 25;50(5):637-46 Interaction of alpha-lipoic acid
enantiomers and homologues with the enzyme components of the mammalian pyruvate
dehydrogenase complex. Loffelhardt S, Bonaventura C, Locher M, Borbe HO,
Bisswanger H. Physiologisch-Chemisches Institut, University of Tubingen, Germany.
[7] Biochem Mol Biol Int 1995 Oct;37(2):361-70 Modelling cortical cataractogenesis 17:
in vitro effect of a-lipoic acid on glucose-induced lens membrane damage, a model of
diabetic cataractogenesis. Kilic F, Handelman GJ, Serbinova E,
Packer L, Trevithick JR. Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
someone needs to work on their creative writing skills
The majority of products currently on the market, in point of fact all, contain the racemic mixture of r-ALA and s-ALA.
The racemic mixture does give some of the benefits of r-ALA, but it does not give all of them. For those benefits that the racemic mixture does impart it requires much higher dosages to achieve the same effects than with r-ALA.
How much better is r-ALA?
For glucose disposal it is estimated that it takes AT LEAST three times the amount of racemic ALA to match the effects of r-ALA.
This is in part due to the fact that s-ALA does not improve plasma free fatty acids[1], has a negative impact on glucose transport (GLUT4) proteins[2] and also increases insulin levels[3]. It is likely that due to the increase in insulin the racemic mixture can never
deliver the same benefits as the pure r-ALA. The other important facet of ALA is its benefit as a potent anti-oxidant.
The anti-oxidant effects of racemic mixtures are quite varied and depend on the tissue. With administration of racemic mixtures the s-ALA often negates much of the value of the R-ala in many tissues. The main method by which ALA is effective as an anti-oxidant is through its reduction to Di-Hydro-Lipoic Acid (DHLA). In tissues like the brain[4], heart [5] [6], kidneys and retina[7] the s-ALA enantiomer blocks the enzymatic reduction of r-ALA to DHLA.
While s-ALA is sometimes reduced in these tissues, it is at 1/7 to 1/24 of the rate reduction of r-ALA. In some tissues, including the retina, it has no effect at all other than to block the reduction of r-ALA[8].
The above essentially means that the removal of the s-ALA enantiomer is absolutely necessary to achieve the affects that are promised
by the research.
What it also means is that r-ALA is far superior to the racemic mixtures that are currently available in most, not all, aspects of application.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Am J Physiol 1997 Jul;273(1 Pt 1):E185-91 Differential effects of lipoic acid
stereoisomers on glucose metabolism in insulin-resistant skeletal muscle. Streeper RS,
Henriksen EJ, Jacob S, Hokama JY, Fogt DL, Tritschler HJ. Department of Physiology,
University of Arizona, Tucson 85721-0093, USA.
[2] ibid
[3] ibid
[4] Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2002 May 14;99(10):7184-5 Memory loss in old
rats is associated with brain mitochondrial decay and RNA/DNA oxidation:
partial reversal by feeding acetyl-L-carnitine and/or R-alpha –lipoic acid.
Liu J, Head E, Gharib AM, Yuan W, Ingersoll RT, Hagen TM, Cotman CW, Ames
BN.Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
[5] J Mol Cell Cardiol 1995 Sep;27(9):1895-903 Dose/response curves
of lipoic acid R-and S-forms in the working rat heart during reoxygenation:
superiority of the R-enantiomer in enhancement of aortic flow. Zimmer G, Beikler TK,
Schneider M, Ibel J, Tritschler H, Ulrich H. Gustav-Embden-Zentrum,
Biologischen Chemie, Universitatsklinikum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
[6] Biochem Pharmacol 1995 Aug 25;50(5):637-46 Interaction of alpha-lipoic acid
enantiomers and homologues with the enzyme components of the mammalian pyruvate
dehydrogenase complex. Loffelhardt S, Bonaventura C, Locher M, Borbe HO,
Bisswanger H. Physiologisch-Chemisches Institut, University of Tubingen, Germany.
[7] Biochem Mol Biol Int 1995 Oct;37(2):361-70 Modelling cortical cataractogenesis 17:
in vitro effect of a-lipoic acid on glucose-induced lens membrane damage, a model of
diabetic cataractogenesis. Kilic F, Handelman GJ, Serbinova E,
Packer L, Trevithick JR. Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
someone needs to work on their creative writing skills
