Benefits of L-Glutamine Supplimentation
April 23, 2009 by admin
Filed under Health & Fitness
By: Dr. Mark Walter
L-glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the bloodstream and in the body. It’s involved in more metabolic processes than any other amino acid, fulfilling a number of biochemical needs.
L-glutamine can contribute to the production of other amino acids, glucose, nucleotides, protein and glutathione. It’s the principal metabolic fuel for the epithelial cells that line the small intestine (enterocytes) and for certain immune cells, namely lymphocytes, macrophages and fibroblasts. Glutamine is a non-essential amino acid, in that the body can synthesize it from the amino acid glutamic via the glutamine synthase enzyme.
Glutamine supplementation has been shown to enhance immune system function and result in a lower level of infection and a shorter hospital stay following surgery, radiation treatment, bone marrow transplantation and injury, compared with patients receiving glutamine-free parenteral nutrition. However, during periods of fasting, starvation, critical illness, cancer or AIDS; following trauma, radiation treatment, surgery or bone marrow transplantation; or in patients with a weakened immune system or catabolic stress, extra glutamine replenishment has been shown to be beneficial to re-establish homeostatis.
Glutamine also is a main anti-catabolic agent in muscle, which might help preserve muscle tissue (preventing its breakdown) during and after exercise. The heavier one trains, the greater the stress on the muscle and therefore the greater the use of glutamine.
Supplementation Studies
HIV infection: Glutamine supplementation plus N-acetylcysteine supplementation enhances glutathione levels in HIV patients. Higher glutathione status correlates with a slowing of the progression of HIV to AIDS. Glutathione depletion is common in these patients. Glutathione is a first-line antioxidant in the quenching of free radicals and participates in phase I and phase II liver detoxification functions.
Anti-catabolic effect with exercise: Oral glutamine has been shown to maintain muscle mass in catabolic patients. However, glutamine supplementation might increase ammonia levels and add to the ammonia burden of certain patients and athletes, jeopardizing recovery or performance, respectively. To overcome this burden, the use of alpha-ketogluturate has been shown to act as a glutamine precursor, without contributing to ammonia buildup. However, L-glutamine at doses of up to 2,000 mg to 5,000 mg per day appears to be safe.
Prevention of infections in athletes: Glutamine supplementation in endurance athletes has been shown to reduce the incidence of infections in this population, who are known to have their immune systems suppressed by excess training. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study showed that 5 gm glutamine supplementation, taken after the end of exercise in 151 endurance athletes, resulted in a significantly lower incidence of infections (19 percent) compared to the placebo group (51 percent) during the study period.
Dosage Ranges
As oral glutamine supplementation can potentially produce undesirable levels of ammonia in the body, it is unclear as to what levels of intake are safe (as a supplement). As an alternative, oral ornithine alpha-ketogluturate has been used to elevate glutamine status without ammonia buildup when taken orally.
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