Sodium 2-oxopropanoate (Sodium pyruvate), a three-carbon metabolite of Glucose, is a compound produced in the glycolytic pathway. Sodium 2-oxopropanoate is a free radical scavenger that can scavenge ROS[2].In Vitro: In the process of scavenging hydrogen peroxide, Sodium 2-oxopropanoate (Sodium pyruvate) is decarboxylated to lactate and hence diverted away from aerobic metabolism and further ROS generation. Under conditions in which pyruvate stimulated JNK1 activity, both mitochondrial and cytosolic ROS levels rose. An increase in JNK1 activity in a variety of different cell types over a range of pyruvate concentrations are observed.
Sodium 2-oxopropanoate (Sodium pyruvate) is an effective scavenger of H2O2 as well as of O2·-, thereby protecting the lens against oxidative stress and consequent cataract formation, under in vitro as well as in vivo conditions, Sodium 2-oxopropanoate has also been shown to protect the lens proteins against glycation by competitively inhibiting the initial reaction between the sugar carbonyl and the protein -NH2[2].In Vivo: Neonatal rats are given a bolus of Sodium 2-oxopropanoate (Sodium pyruvate; 0.1-10 g/kg), and 1 h later, levels of JNK1 activity were determined in liver extracts. Sodium 2-oxopropanoate (Sodium pyruvate) addition resulted in a significant increase in JNK1 activity. Analysis of serum levels of Sodium 2-oxopropanoate in neonatal rats revealed that baseline levels of pyruvate are 0.30 mM. At the time of sacrifice, following the largest dose of Sodium 2-oxopropanoate, serum levels rose approximately sixfold to 1.84 mM.