THE ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF THIOCTIC ACID - CHARACTERIZATION BY CYCLIC VOLTAMMETRY

Thioctic acid (TA) level and its antioxidant capacity were monitored b y cyclic voltammetry (CV), in solution and in human plasma. A linear c orrelation between the anodic wave current Ia at 900 mV and [TA] was o btained. This indicates that TA, commonly found in human plasma, is an antioxidant component characterized by a potential E(1/2)=900 mV and constitute, at least in part, the second anodic wave of the CV tracing . When plasma from diabetic patients was analyzed by CV, those patient s under treatment with TA showed higher Ia than others not taking the drug. When the patients under treatment with TA were divided into grou ps according to the severity of their nephropathy, or according to the severity of their total complication count, Ia levels representing TA were significantly higher in those patients with more severe complica tions.