The oxidation of glucose and the concomitant generation of free radicals together with the operation of lipoic as an antioxidant, all, take place in and are contained by the mitochondria. Liver cells also oxidize glucose, and they contain 800-2,000 mitochondria per cell. As I indicated in the previous chapter, any agent which would facilitate the conversion of glucose into ATP, as lipoic does, would be beneficial in diabetes because it works toward lowering the over-all plasma glucose, thus reducing glycation of proteins and the free radicals which result from the oxidation of glucose outside the mitochondrial containment. Thus the antioxidant properties of lipoic and its glucose disposal effects go hand in hand. To convey an idea of what is happening in the oxidation of glucose into ATP and the intense reactivity of this metabolic event, consider the following demonstration which closely parallels what is actually happening inside cells.
Wheat is mostly starch, which is long-chain glucose.
If you grind it into a fine flour and dust it into a tube so that the glucose mixes with oxygen as it falls toward a source of energy, then energy, or heat, from the candle initiates the oxidation of the glucose and a metabolic conversion occurs. The energy in the reactive substances is so high that a major explosion occurs. Inside a living cell, when glucose is united with oxygen, a similar process occurs. The nexus of this enzymatic sequence is called the pyruvate dehydrogenase reaction, and it entails a large number of free radical reactions. As I said at the beginning of this chapter, the antioxidant properties of lipoic were observed soon after its discover, when it was demonstrated to be highly effective in protecting against damage by radiation and chemical toxins.