Facts About Alpha Lipoic Acid & N Acetyl L Carnitine

Free radicals are produced as a result of radiation and cigarette smoke, and by the cells as they metabolize food. Antioxidants, like alpha lipoic acid, protect the cells against these free radicals and may help to treat certain diseases. The cells of the body use acetyl L-carnitine to break down fatty acids for energy.

What is Alpha Lipoic Acid?

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, alpha lipoic acid is in all of the cells of the body. Also referred to as thioctic acid, it is made within the cells from fatty acids to be an antioxidant, or a substance that fights the free radicals that can harm the cells and tissues. Vitamins E and C are also antioxidants, but vitamin E can only work in fatty tissue and vitamin C only functions in water, while alpha lipoic acid can work in both environments.

Alpha Lipoic Acid and Disease

Diabetic neuropathy is the medical term that describes the damage that diabetes mellitus can cause to the nerves. People with this disorder can have pain and infections in their feet, and problems with digestion. Autonomic neuropathy involves problems with perspiration, the blood pressure and the heart rate, where someone perspires too much or not enough, feels faint and dizzy. The Mayo Clinic reports that alpha lipoic acid may help lower the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy and may be helpful in the treatment of autonomic neuropathy, although more research is needed.

What is Acetyl L-Carnitine?

The cells break down fatty acids so they can use the products for energy, as explained in the "Principles of Medical Biochemistry," by Gerhard Meisenberg, Ph.D. of the Department of Biochemistry at Ross University School of Medicine. In order to break down the fatty acids, however, the cells need carnitine. Carnitine or acetyl-L-carnitine, also called ALCAR and acetyl-L-carnitine hydrochloride, is made in the liver and muscles, and found in fish and poultry. Researchers are studying its use in preventing the negative side effects of certain medications.

Acetyl L-Carnitine and Medications

The University of Maryland Medical Center writes that acetyl L-carnitine may protect the heart against the negative side effects of a medication called doxorubicin, a medication used in the treatment of cancer. They also write that a research study in Greece demonstrated that people who had negative side effects from taking a medication called isotretinoin for acne, improved when they took acetyl L-carnitine. However, an antiseizure medication called valproic acid can cause a deficiency of carnitine.