V M Gandhi
Articles written in Journal of Biosciences
Volume 6 Issue 1 March 1984 pp 37-46
Lipoic acid and diabetes: Effect of dihydrolipoic acid administration in diabetic rats and rabbits
C V Natraj V M Gandhi K K G Menon
Relative α-lipoic acid content of diabetic livers was considerably less than that of normal livers as determined by gas chromatography. It was not possible to detect any dihydrolipoic acid in the livers. Biochemical abnormalities such as hyperglycaemia, ketonemia, reduction in liver glycogen and impaired incorporation of [2-14C] -acetate into fatty acids in alloxan diabetic rats were brought to near normal levels by the oral or intraperitoneal administration of dihydrolipoic acid. The effect of α-lipoic acid was comparable to that of dihydrolipoic acid in reducing the blood sugar levels of diabetic rabbits during a glucose tolerance test.
The results suggest that the mode of action of lipoic acid was through stimulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase.
Volume 9 Issue 1-2 September 1985 pp 117-127
Lipoic acid and diabetes II: Mode of action of lipoic acid
V M Gandhi S S Wagh C V Natraj K K G Menon
Intraperitoneal administration of lipoic acid (10 mg/100 g) does not effect changes in serum insulin levels in normal and alloxan diabetic rats, while normalising increased serum pyruvate, and impaired liver pyruvic dehydrogenase characteristic of the diabetic state. Dihydrolipoic acid has been shown to participate in activation of fatty acids with equal facility as coenzyme A. Fatty acyl dihydrolipoic acid however is sparsely thiolyzed to yield acetyl dihydrolipoic acid. Also acetyl dihydrolipoic acid does not activate pyruvate carboxylase unlike acetyl coenzyme A. The reduced thiolysis of Β-keto fatty acyl dihydrolipoic acid esters and the lack of activation of pyruvic carboxylase by acetyl dihydrolipoic acid could account for the antiketotic and antigluconeogenic effects of lipoic acid
Volume 10 Issue 2 June 1986 pp 171-179
Lipoic acid and diabetes—Part III: Metabolic role of acetyl dihydrolipoic acid
S S Wagh V M Gandhi C V Natraj K K G Menon
Rat liver lipoyl transacetylase catalyzes the formation of acetyl dihydrolipoic acid from acetyl coenzyme A and dihydrolipoic acid. In an earlier paper the formation of acetyl dihydrolipoic from pyruvate and dihydrolipoic acid catalyzed by pyruvate dehydrogenase has been reported. Acetyl dihydrolipoic acid is a substrate for citrate synthase, acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase and fatty acid synthetase. The Vmax. for citrate synthase with acetyl dihydrolipoic acid was identical to acetyl coenzyme A (approximately 1 μmol citrate formed/min/mg protein) while the apparent Km was approximately 4 times higher with acetyl dihydrolipoic acid as the substrate. This may be due to the fact that synthetic acetyl dihydrolipoic acid is a mixture of 4 possible isomers and only one of them may be the substrate for the enzymatic reaction. While dihydrolipoic acid can replace coenzyme A in the activation of succinate catalyzed by succinyl coenzyme A synthetase, the transfer of coenzyme A between succinate and acetoacetyl dihydrolipoic acid catalyzed by succinyl coenzyme A: 3 oxo-acid coenzyme A transferase does not occur.
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