Dihydrolipoic acid is an
organic compound
In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The ...
that is the reduced form of
lipoic acid
Lipoic acid (LA), also known as α-lipoic acid, alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) and thioctic acid, is an organosulfur compound derived from caprylic acid (octanoic acid). ALA is made in animals normally, and is essential for aerobic metabolism. It is a ...
. This carboxylic acid features a pair of
thiol
In organic chemistry, a thiol (; ), or thiol derivative, is any organosulfur compound of the form , where R represents an alkyl or other organic substituent. The functional group itself is referred to as either a thiol group or a sulfhydryl gro ...
groups, and therefore is a
dithiol
In organic chemistry, a dithiol is a type of organosulfur compound with two thiol () functional groups. Their properties are generally similar to those of monothiols in terms of solubility, odor, and volatility. They can be classified according ...
. It is
optically active
Optical rotation, also known as polarization rotation or circular birefringence, is the rotation of the orientation of the plane of polarization about the optical axis of linearly polarized light as it travels through certain materials. Circul ...
, but only the R-enantiomer is biochemically significant. The lipoic acid/dihydrolipoic acid pair participate in a variety of biochemical transformations.
See also
*
Dihydrolipoamide
Dihydrolipoamide is a molecule oxidized by dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase in order to produce lipoamide. Lipoamide is subsequently used as a cofactor for α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, and branched-chain α-ke ...
*
Lipoamide
Lipoamide is a trivial name for 6,8-dithiooctanoic amide. It is the functional form of lipoic acid, i.e the carboxyl group is attached to protein via an amine with an amide linkage. Illustrative of the biochemical role of lipoamide is in the conve ...
References
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Carboxylic acids
Thiols