Alpha lipoic acid is also called thioctic acid, and is formed endogenously in humans and animals. The role of alpha lipoic acid is as an antioxidant, where it takes part in the redox recycling that protects cells from oxidation. The structure of lipoic acid, which possesses two thiol groups, makes it functionally efficient in this role. Alpha lipoic acid may also have certain mental health roles that are not widely understood. This may relate to its ability to act as an antioxidant. In one study researchers investigated the effects of alpha lipoic acid on depression in mice. Mice received corticosterone injections in order to experimentally induce anxiety and depressive-like symptoms and then received alpha lipoic acid injections with or without the antidepressant drug desvenlafaxine. The administration of DVS and ALA alone was able to reverse the depressive-like behaviour in the mice, and the co-administration of alpha lipoic acid with desvenlafaxine reversed the negative effects of the drug.
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