Sodium pyruvate is a
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
of the conjugate anion form of
pyruvic acid
Pyruvic acid (CH3COCOOH) is the simplest of the alpha-keto acids, with a carboxylic acid and a ketone functional group. Pyruvate, the conjugate base, CH3COCOO−, is an intermediate in several metabolic pathways throughout the cell.
Pyruvic aci ...
, known as pyruvate. It is commonly added to cell culture media as an additional source of energy, but may also have protective effects against
hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscous than water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3%†...
. This was reported by Giandomenico ''et al''. and has been confirmed by several independent groups.
Due to pyruvate being an intermediate in many pathways for metabolism including
glycolysis
Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose () into pyruvate (). The free energy released in this process is used to form the high-energy molecules adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH ...
, sodium pyruvate has been used in many experiments involving cell cultures to provide more energy. In adipocytes it was found that sodium pyruvate promoted increased uptake of insulin-mediated glucose.
In the body, one way in which sodium pyruvate provides energy to cells is through pyruvate conversion to acetyl-CoA which then can enter the TCA cycle which produces energy and is linked to other energy producing processes.
Along with having antioxidant properties and energy producing effects, sodium pyruvate has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and is used in several studies on brain injury because of these characteristics.
References
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Organic sodium salts