2-Ketoglutaric acid holds significant value in the medical field. As an important organic intermediate, it is used in pharmaceutical synthesis to create various drugs. For instance, it can form salts with amino acids, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and other elements, resulting in a range of products with broad medical applications. Additionally, 2-ketoglutaric acid can serve as a ligand or substrate for certain enzymes, participating in physiological reactions within the body. This offers new physiological functions, providing fresh insights for new drug development.
2-Ketoglutaric acid is a key intermediate metabolite in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, involved in the oxidative breakdown of nutrients like carbohydrates, fats, and proteins to provide cellular energy. In medicine, this characteristic makes it an important tool for studying diseases related to energy metabolism. By regulating the metabolic pathways of 2-ketoglutaric acid, it is possible to influence cellular energy production and utilization, thus offering new approaches to treat diseases involving energy metabolism disorders.
2-Ketoglutaric acid also participates in amino acid transformation and metabolism. Through transamination, it helps generate new amino acids or α-keto acids, thereby regulating amino acid balance and utilization. This characteristic makes it a key compound in treating diseases related to amino acid metabolism disorders. For example, it can be used to treat conditions caused by amino acid metabolism disorders, such as urea cycle disorders.
2-Ketoglutaric acid has antioxidant properties, allowing it to scavenge free radicals and protect cells from oxidative damage. In the medical field, this characteristic makes it an important compound in studying antioxidant drugs. By enhancing cellular antioxidant capacity, it can mitigate oxidative stress damage to cells, thus helping to prevent and treat diseases related to oxidative stress.
Recent studies have shown that the structural analog of 2-ketoglutaric acid, 2-hydroxyglutaric acid (2-HG), is closely associated with the development of several diseases, making biosensor development based on it a research hotspot. By detecting the levels of 2-HG in biological samples, new methods and pathways for diagnosing and treating related diseases can be established. This potential application provides a broad scope for the further development of 2-ketoglutaric acid in the medical field.
