Sodium pyruvate

It is commonly added to cell culture media as an additional source of energy, but may also have protective effects against hydrogen peroxide.

This was reported by Giandomenico et al.[1] and has been confirmed by several independent groups.

Due to pyruvate being an intermediate in many pathways for metabolism including glycolysis, sodium pyruvate has been used in many experiments involving cell cultures to provide more energy.

In adipocytes it was found that sodium pyruvate promoted increased uptake of insulin-mediated glucose.

[2] Along with having antioxidant properties and energy producing effects, sodium pyruvate has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and is used in several studies on brain injury because of these characteristics.

Ball-and-stick model of the pyruvate anion
Ball-and-stick model of the pyruvate anion
The sodium cation
The sodium cation