Chemically, dithio-octanoic acid, a coenzyme (together with vitamin B1) in the metabolism of pyruvate and in the citric acid cycle. Although it is an essential growth factor for various microorganisms, there is no evidence that it is a human dietary requirement.
A critical coenzyme in the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate and a-ketoglutarate. It participates in the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex where lipoic acid is linked to the e-amino group of a lysine residue from the enzyme dihydrolipoyl transacetylase. As the lipoamide undergoes reversible acylation/deacylation, it transfers acyl groups to CoA and results in reversible ring opening/closing in the oxidation of the a-keto acid. Lipoic acid can be synthesized endogenously to meet need and is not a vitamin.
A sulfur-containing compound that can be readily interconverted to and from its reduced form, dihydrolipoic acid. Lipoic acid functions in carbohydrate metabolism as one of the coenzymes in the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate and other a-keto acids.