Alpha-Lipoic Acid

Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA) is a mitochondrial compound that is highly involved in energy metabolism. It is synthesized in the body and can be consumed through eating meat. It is also minimally present in some fruits and vegetables.

In supplement form, it has shown benefit for various forms of oxidation and inflammation. These effects protect against heart diseases, liver diseases, diabetes, and neurological decline associated with aging.

ALA is a potent anti-oxidant compound. It works with mitochondria and the body's natural anti-oxidant defenses. ALA is also seen as an anti-aging compound since it can reverse some of the oxidant damage related to the effects of aging.

Standard dosages of Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA) tend to be in the range of 300-600mg, with little differentiation based on whether the racemic mixture of ALA (S- and R- isomers) or Na-R-ALA results in higher blood levels.

ALA appears to be absorbed via transporter-related means, and despite being inherently fat-soluble it does not require dietary fatty acids to be absorbed from the gut. ALA supplementation can be taken in a fasted state.

The Human Effect Matrix looks at human studies (it excludes animal and in vitro studies) to tell you what effects alpha-lipoic acid has on your body, and how strong these effects are.

Grade	Level of Evidence [show legend]
	Robust research conducted with repeated double-blind clinical trials
	Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled
	Single double-blind study or multiple cohort studies
	Uncontrolled or observational studies only

Level of Evidence ? The amount of high quality evidence. The more evidence, the more we can trust the results.	Outcome	Magnitude of effect ? The direction and size of the supplement's impact on each outcome. Some supplements can have an increasing effect, others have a decreasing effect, and others have no effect.	Consistency of research results ? Scientific research does not always agree. HIGH or VERY HIGH means that most of the scientific research agrees.	Notes
	Symptoms of Diabetic Neuropathy	Notable	Very High See 2 studies	Not yet compared to reference drugs, but it has been subject to a meta-analysis and appears to be more effective than other options for reducing nerve pain associated with diabetes. The lack of a reference comparison and some evidence suggesting no effect prevent a strong rating.
	General Oxidation	Minor	High See all 6 studies	Appears to reduce biomarkers of oxidation
	Blood Pressure	-	Very High See all 6 studies	The majority of evidence using intravenous or oral supplements fail to find an influence, and the one study to suggest a reduction was also confounded with weight loss (known to reduce blood pressure). It can be assumed that ALA has no significant influence on blood pressure even in studies where blood flow is altered
	Symptoms of Intermittent Claudication	Notable	- See study	The reduction of claudication symptoms appears to be fairly potent with ALA supplementation, although there is not a large body of evidence overall.
	Blood Flow	Minor	Very High See 2 studies	May increase blood flow, although not the a remarkable degree. Possibly secondary to antioxidative effects
	HbA1c	Minor	Moderate See all 3 studies	There appears to be a slight reducing effect on HbA1c
	Inflammation	Minor	Moderate See 2 studies	Mixed effects depending on what inflammatory biomarker or cytokine is measured; practical significance unknown
	Lipid Peroxidation	Minor	Very High See 2 studies	Appears to reduce biomarkers of lipid peroxidation (MDA mostly)
	Nerve Repair	Minor	- See study	May increase nerve regeneration rates and be of aid to nervous system injury
	Protein Carbonyl Content	Minor	- See study	Appears to reduce protein carbonylation, which may be related to the antioxidative effects
	Weight	Minor	Moderate See all 4 studies	It is possible that high doses (1,800mg) may have a body weight reducing effect in obese persons, but this requires more evidence.
	Anti-Oxidant Enzyme Profile	-	- See 2 studies	Mixed effects on antioxidant enzymes, with decreases in glutathione peroxidase and increases in catalase with no effect on SOD
	Blood Glucose		- See study	A small decrease in blood glucose is noted with oral supplementation of ALA, related to the glucose disposal properties
	C-Reactive Protein	-	Moderate See 2 studies	Although there may be a reduction of C-Reactive protein in some populations, for the most part ALA does not seem significantly effective in reducing this inflammatory biomarker of cardiovascular disease
	Heart Rate	-	- See study	No significant interaction between ALA and heart rate has been noted
	Insulin Sensitivity	-	- See study	No significant influence on insulin sensitivity has been noted
	Motion Sickness	-	- See study	Insufficient evidence to support a reduction in motion sickness with ALA supplementation
	Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis	-	- See study	No significant interaction between ALA supplementation and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
	Treatment of Dementia	-	- See study	No significant rehabilitative effect of ALA on cognitive decline has been noted
	Muscle Creatine Content	Minor	- See study	Has been associated with augmenting creatine uptake into muscle cells acutely; long term influence unknown
	Oxidation of LDL	Minor	- See study	Appeared to increase oxidation of LDL according to one study, which was abolished by exercise but noted to be a concern during rest.
	Skin Quality	Minor	- See study	May improve skin quality when topically applied
	Glycemic Control	-	- See study	No significant practical benefit on glycemic control noted

Studies Excluded from Consideration

• Excluded due to being intravenous injections and not oral supplementation^[1]

• Alpha-lipoic acid for carpal tunnel syndrome

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