Calcium pyruvate
Pyruvate is the ionized form of pyruvic acid. Pyruvic acid is an important intermediate in the in vivo metabolism and a starting material for synthesizing various physiologically active substances. For example, L-tryptophan is obtained by enzymatic reaction of triptophanase on indole, pyruvic acid, and ammonia. Pyruvic acid and salts thereof are important intermediates found in the pathway of carbohydrate metabolism within the living body. Pyruvic acid is a valuable starting material for producing useful amino acids such as tryptophane, tyrosine or alanine by known methods. It is used by itself as a flavoring agent to impart a sour taste to foods. All mammalian cells require energy to live and grow. Cells obtain this energy by metabolizing food molecules. Pyruvate is a committed metabolite at the end of the glycolytic pathway. Under anaerobic conditions it is reduced to lactate; under aerobic conditions, as in actively metabolizing muscle cells containing mitochondria and their attendant electron transport chain, it is mobilized into the citric acid cycle and completely oxidized to carbon dioxide. The vast majority of normal cells utilize a single metabolic pathway to metabolize their food. The first step in this metabolic pathway is the partial degradation of glucose molecules to pyruvate in a process known as glycolysis or glycolytic cycle. The pyruvate is further degraded in the mitochondrion by a process known as the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle to water and carbon dioxide, which is then eliminated. The critical link between these two processes is a large multi-subunit enzyme complex known as the pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex (PDC). PDC functions as a catalyst which funnels the pyruvate from the glycolytic cycle to the TCA cycle. Pyruvate enhances both fat and
weight loss by two mechanisms. Pyruvate increases resting metabolic rate. Pyruvate also increases the metabolism of fats and carbohydrates. The major function of carbohydrates and fatty acids is to provide energy through their oxidation in the citric acid cycle. Increased pyruvate levels serve to prime the citric acid cycle and allows the increased utilization of carbohydrates, and fatty acids in the TCA cycle. Pyruvate is created during the metabolism of carbohydrates and protein. Pyruvate is continuously manufactured in the living organism from glucose. The process by which glucose is converted to pyruvate involves a series of enzymatic reactions that occur anaerobically (in the absence of oxygen). This process is called "glycolysis". A small amount of energy is generated in the glycolytic conversion of glucose to pyruvate, but a much larger amount of energy is generated in a subsequent more complicated series of reactions in which pyruvate is broken down to carbon dioxide and water. This process, which does require oxygen and is referred to as "oxidative respiration", involves the stepwise metabolic breakdown of pyruvate by various enzymes of the Krebs tricarboxylic acid cycle and conversion of the products into high energy molecules by electron transport chain reactions. In addition to being formed in the body, pyruvate is present in foods including red apples, cheese, and red wine. The oxidation of pyruvate in the Krebs cycle provides cells with the bulk of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) used to maintain homeostasis. In cells with high energy charge, coenzyme A (CoA) is acylated as acetyl-CoA which activates pyruvate carboxylase, directing pyruvate toward gluconeogenesis. However, when energy is low in the cell, CoA is not acylated and pyruvate is preferentially oxidized via pyruvate dehydrogenase to CO2 and H2O. Through its role as an energy source, pyruvate has been suggested to aid weight loss efforts and exercise endurance. Pyruvate has a number of useful applications in medical treatment. Pyruvate has been described for retarding fatty deposits in livers, for diabetes treatment, for retarding weight gain, to increase body protein concentration in a mammal, for treating cardiac patients to increase the cardiac output without accompanying increase in cardiac oxygen demand, for extending athletic endurance, for retarding cholesterol increase, for inhibiting growth and spread of malignancy and retarding DNA breaks, and for inhibiting generation of free radicals. Pyruvate in various forms has been proposed for enteral administration and for parenteral administration. Typically pyruvates are available in the form of salts, e.g., calcium pyruvate and sodium pyruvate.
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