A study published in Molecules reveals the supplement might improve brain health and reduce damage.

Why Lithium Ascorbate?

Lithium has long been used in psychiatry due to its mood-stabilizing and neuroprotective properties. However, traditional lithium salts like lithium carbonate have a narrow safety window — meaning the dose has to be just right. Too little won’t help, but too much can cause serious side effects. For example, patients on lithium carbonate often need regular blood tests to make sure levels stay in a safe range.

To solve this, scientists have been exploring other lithium compounds that could be safer and easier to tolerate, especially for long-term use. This study examined results of experiments with lithium ascorbate, a combination of lithium and vitamin C (ascorbic acid).

How It Was Discovered

To find the best candidate among over 1,245 possible organic lithium salts, the researchers used a powerful AI-based method called chemoreactomic modeling. This involves simulating and predicting how each molecule might behave in the body, including its toxicity, absorption, interaction with proteins, and how it might affect inflammation or metabolism. Through this digital screening, lithium ascorbate ranked highest.

Among the top contenders, lithium ascorbate stood out for its ability to inhibit key enzymes and receptors involved in brain health. It was particularly good at blocking the GSK-3β enzyme, which plays a role in neurodegeneration and mood disorders. It also showed potential to enhance neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, and even had predicted anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and metabolic benefits. Based on these results, lithium ascorbate was selected for further laboratory and animal testing.

Brain Protection

In lab experiments, researchers tested lithium ascorbate on cultured brain cells from rats, specifically granular neurons from the cerebellum. These neurons were exposed to glutamate stress, which mimics the damage seen in stroke and Alzheimer’s. Lithium ascorbate helped neurons survive and did it significantly better than lithium carbonate or lithium chloride. Even low doses showed measurable benefits, suggesting strong potential for neuroprotection.

How It Moves in the Body

To understand how lithium ascorbate is distributed throughout the body, researchers gave it to rats and measured lithium levels in 11 different organs and tissues over 48 hours. The body handles lithium ascorbate differently from other forms of lithium. It enters the blood quickly, is cleared slowly, and exchanges steadily between the blood and the storage tissues such as brain and bones.

This slow release from the depot may explain why even small doses of lithium ascorbate can have long-lasting effects. It also reduces the risk of toxic peaks in blood lithium levels, which is a major concern with lithium carbonate.

Safety

Lithium ascorbate proved to be remarkably safe in toxicity tests. In acute toxicity experiments, even at high doses, no rats died or showed serious side effects. Only at the highest doses did some animals experience signs of illness and death

Anti-Cancer Effects

Lithium ascorbate also showed anti-tumor activity in mice with Lewis lung carcinoma, a common cancer model. Tumor growth slowed by 30–40% on lithium ascorbate compared to 20–30% on lithium carbonate. The effect of lithium ascorbate was also more stable and longer-lasting. However, neither lithium ascorbate nor lithium carbonate affected the tumor metastasis, which remained similar across groups.

Alcohol Brain Damage Protection

Lithium ascorbate was also tested on chronic alcohol-intoxicated rats, a model of long-term brain injury. Alcohol can severely damage the nervous system, cause inflammation, and degrade the myelin sheath that protects nerve fibers. When rats were given lithium ascorbate before or after alcohol exposure, their behavior improved significantly — they were more active, less anxious, and showed fewer withdrawal symptoms. Biochemical tests also showed less inflammation and faster alcohol breakdown.

Tissue analysis of the brain revealed differences. In untreated alcohol-exposed rats, neurons were swollen, damaged, and often dying. But in lithium ascorbate-treated rats, most neurons were intact, with well-preserved myelin sheaths and fewer signs of damage.

Takeaway

This study highlights lithium ascorbate as a promising neuroprotective compound. It outperformed traditional lithium salts in protecting neurons, showed extremely low toxicity, and maintained stable lithium levels in the brain. With added benefits like anti-inflammatory effects, tumor growth inhibition, and protection against alcohol-induced brain damage, lithium ascorbate may offer a safe alternative for brain health support.

Interested in learning more? Read the original paper