Glutamine is traditionally considered a nonessential amino acid but may be conditionally essential in patients with catabolic (loss of muscle tissue due to disease) conditions. Glutamine-supplemented foods in these patients have been shown to prevent deterioration of gut permeability, protect against the development of intestinal mucosal atrophy, and improve nitrogen balance. For more glutamine information.
   Glutamine levels in plasma and skeletal muscle are decreased in those with cancer. Glutamine supplementation can attenuate loss of protein in the muscle and protect immune and gut-barrier function during radiochemotherapy in patients with advanced cancer. You can buy Glutamine here.

Glutamine in Sports
Short-term ingestion of glutamine does not enhance weightlifting performance in resistance-trained men.
   Heavy exercise induces impairment of lymphocyte function. Ten male athletes participated in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover study. Each athlete performed bicycle exercise for 2 h at 75% of maximum O(2) consumption on 2 separate days. Glutamine or placebo supplements were given orally during and up to 2 hours post-exercise. Most lymphocyte subpopulations decreased 2 h after exercise. Glutamine supplementation abolished the post-exercise decline in plasma glutamine concentration but had no effect on lymphocyte trafficking, Natural killer cell activities, T cell proliferation, catecholamines, growth hormone, insulin, or glucose. This study does not support the idea that glutamine plays a mechanistic role in exercise-induced immune changes.
   The combination of glutamine and Creatine increases muscle mass and power. For more creatine info.

Glutamine and arginine
A metabolic relation exists between glutamine and arginine, two amino acids with properties that enhance the recovery of seriously ill patients. It is possible that glutamine exerts part of its beneficial effects by enhancing the availability of Arginine. Glutamine is an important precursor for the synthesis of arginine amino acid in humans.

Glutamine and HIV
Glutamine-antioxidant nutrient supplementation can increase body weight, body cell mass, and intracellular water when compared with placebo in HIV patients.
   Glutamine is helpful in HIV patients who are receiving certain types of anti-viral medicines.

Glutamine Summary
Glutamine appears be helpful in those with cancer, HIV, or other medical conditions that lead to a catabolic state, but does not seem to play a significant role (by itself) in those who are healthy or provide any significant enhancement in athletic performance.

L-Glutamine 1,000 mg per capsule
Glutamine has recently been the focus of much scientific interest. A growing body of evidence suggests that during certain stressful times, the body may require more glutamine than it can produce. Under these circumstances Glutamine may be considered a "conditionally essential" amino acid.  Glutamine is involved in maintaining a positive nitrogen balance (an anabolic state) and also aids rapidly growing cells (immune system lymphocytes and intestinal cell enterocytes).  In addition, Glutamine is a regulator of acid-base balance and a nitrogen transporter.

Glutamine Research Update
Effects of an oral mixture containing glycine, glutamine and niacin on memory, GH and IGF-I secretion in middle-aged and elderly subjects.
Arwert LI. VU University Medical Center, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HVAmsterdam, The Netherlands.
Nutr Neurosci. 2003 Oct;6(5):269-75.
Aging is associated with declining activity of the growth hormone-insulin-like growth factor-I (GH-IGF-I) axis and with a decrease in cognitive function. The stimulatory effect of an orally administered nutritional supplement, mainly containing glycine, glutamine and niacin on the GH-IGF-I axis and on mood and cognition was investigated. Forty-two healthy subjects (14 men and 28 women, aged 40-76 years) were enrolled in a randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial. They received 5 g of a nutritional supplement or placebo, twice daily orally for a period of 3 weeks. At baseline and after 3 weeks, blood was collected for measurement of serum GH and IGF-I levels and mood and cognitive function were tested. The nutritional supplement ingestion for 3 weeks was found to increase serum GH levels with 70% relatively to placebo, whereas circulating IGF-I levels did not change. Mean GH increased in this group. GH increase was not associated with improvement in mood or memory. Correlation analyses, however, revealed that individual increases in IGF-I, but not GH, were associated with improved memory and vigour. It is concluded that an oral mixture of glycine, glutamine and niacin can enhance GH secretion in healthy middle-aged and elderly subjects.

L-glutamine supplementation improves nelfinavir-associated diarrhea in HIV-infected individuals.
Huffman FG, Walgren ME.
Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33172, USA.
HIV Clin Trials. 2003 Sep-Oct;4(5):324-9.
To determine whether L-glutamine decreases the severity of nelfinavir-associated diarrhea in HIV-infected individuals. Other endpoints include the effect on quality of life, muscle-wasting syndrome, CD4 counts, and viral load. HIV-infected patients with nelfinavir-associated diarrhea for >1 month were randomized to receive L-glutamine 30 g/day or placebo for 10 days in a prospective, double-blind, crossover study. Diarrhea was measured on a scale ranging from grade 0 (no diarrhea) to grade 4 (severe diarrhea, > 7 stools/day). Quality of life was assessed by the Medical Outcome Study (MOS) HIV questionnaire. Twenty-five participants completed the study. There was a significant difference between the L-glutamine and placebo arms on the mean grade of diarrhea (0.762 vs. 1.850, p <.01) when placebo was administered first. When L-glutamine was administered first, there was a significant crossover effect, with similar mean grades of diarrhea in the two groups. There was also a significant difference between L-glutamine and placebo in the mean change in MOS scores from baseline. There were no significant differences between treatment groups for the other endpoints. In this population of HIV-positive participants, L-glutamine 30 g/day significantly reduced the severity of nelfinavir-associated diarrhea and produced improved quality of life compared with placebo.

Glutamine emails
Q. Is glutamine supplement helpful in muscular dystrophy?
   A. See this webpage on muscular dystrophy.

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Additional web sites of interest
5HTP 5 HTP web site for information on natural ways to increase serotonin.
Alpha lipoic acid information and health benefit
Curcumin turmeric information