Glutamine
- Glutamine is an amino acid (a building block for proteins), found naturally in the body.
- Glutamine powder can be ordered through most wholesale drug suppliers. Glutamine for commercial use is made by a fermentation process using bacteria that produce glutamine.
- Glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in the body. Glutamine is produced in the muscles and is distributed by the blood to the organs that need it.
Contents
Uses
- Burns: Administering glutamine through a feeding tube or intravenously (by IV) seems to reduce infections, shorten hospital stays, and improve wound healing in people with burns.
- Critical illness (trauma): There is some evidence that glutamine keeps bacteria from moving out of the intestine and infecting other parts of the body after major injuries. However, not all evidence is consistent. It is not clear if glutamine reduces the risk of death in critically ill people. Some studies suggest that it might reduce the risk of death, while others do not.
- Treating weight loss and intestinal problems in people with HIV/AIDs disease: Taking glutamine by mouth seems to help HIV/AIDS patients absorb food better and gain weight. Doses of 40 grams per day seem to produce the best effect.
- Soreness and swelling inside the mouth, caused by chemotherapy treatments: Some evidence suggests that glutamine reduces soreness and swelling inside the mouth caused by chemotherapy. However, glutamine does not seem to have this effect for all chemotherapy patients. It is not clear which patients are likely to benefit. Some researchers suspect that chemotherapy patients who do not have enough glutamine to start with are most likely to be helped.
- Surgery: Giving glutamine intravenously (by IV) along with intravenous nutrition seems to improve immune function and reduce complications related to infections after major surgery.
- Glutamine is used to counter some of the side effects of medical treatments. For example, it is used for side effects of cancer chemotherapy including diarrhea, pain and swelling inside the mouth (mucositis), nerve pain (neuropathy), and muscle and joint pains caused by the cancer drug Taxol.
- Glutamine is also used to protect the immune system and digestive system in people undergoing radiochemotherapy for cancer of the esophagus.
- Glutamine is used for improving recovery after bone marrow transplant or bowel surgery, increasing well-being in people who have suffered traumatic injuries, and preventing infections in critically ill people.
- Some people use glutamine for digestive system conditions such as stomach ulcers, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease. It is also used for depression, moodiness, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, and enhancing exercise performance.
- Glutamine is also used for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a urinary condition called cystinuria, sickle cellanemia, and for alcohol withdrawal support.
Benefits
- Glutamine might help gut function, the immune system, and other essential processes in the body, especially in times of stress.
- It is also important for providing “fuel” (nitrogen and carbon) to many different cells in the body. Glutamine is needed to make other chemicals in the body such as other amino acids and glucose (sugar).
- After surgery or traumatic injury, nitrogen is necessary to repair the wounds and keep the vital organs functioning. About one third of this nitrogen comes from glutamine.
- If the body uses more glutamine than the muscles can make (i.e., during times of stress), muscle wasting can occur. This can occur in people with HIV/AIDS. Taking glutamine supplements might keep the glutamine stores up.
- Some types of chemotherapy can reduce the levels of glutamine in the body. Glutamine treatment is thought to help prevent chemotherapy-related damage by maintaining the life of the affected tissues.
Cautions
- Children: Glutamine is POSSBILY SAFE when taken by mouth appropriately. Children aged 3 to 18 years should not be given doses that are larger than 0.7 grams per kg of weight daily. Not enough information is known about the safety of higher doses in children.
- Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Not enough is known about the use of glutamine during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.
- Cirrhosis: Glutamine could make this condition worse. People with this condition should avoid glutamine supplements.
- Severe liver disease with difficulty thinking or confusion (hepatic encephalopathy): Glutamine could make this condition worse. Do not use it.
- Monosodium glutamate (MSG) sensitivity (also known as “Chinese restaurant syndrome”): If you are sensitive to MSG, you might also be sensitive to glutamine, because the body converts glutamine to glutamate.
- Mania, a mental disorder: Glutamine might cause some mental changes in people with mania. Avoid use.
- Seizures: There is some concern that glutamine might increase the likelihood of seizures in some people. Avoid use.
Interactions
Moderate Interaction – Be cautious with this combination
- Lactulose interacts with Glutamine: Lactulose helps decrease ammonia in the body. Glutamine is changed into ammonia in the body. Taking glutamine along with lactulose might decrease the effectiveness of lactulose.
- Medications for cancer (Chemotherapy) interacts with Glutamine: There is some concern that glutamine might decrease the effectiveness of some medications for cancer. But it is too soon to know if this interaction occurs.
- Medications used to prevent seizures (Anticonvulsants) interacts with Glutamine: Medications used to prevent seizures affect chemicals in the brain. Glutamine may also affect chemicals in the brain. By affecting chemicals in the brain, glutamine may decrease the effectiveness of medications used to prevent seizures.
- Some medications used to prevent seizures include phenobarbital, primidone (Mysoline), valproic acid (Depakene), gabapentin (Neurontin), carbamazepine (Tegretol), phenytoin (Dilantin), and others.
Other Names
L-Glutamine, Acide Glutamique, Acide Glutamique HCl, Acide L-(+)-2-Aminoglutaramique, Acide L-Glutamique, Acide L-Glutamique HCl, Alanyl-L-Glutamine Dipeptide, Éthyle Ester de Glutamine, Éthyle Ester de Glutamine HCl, GLN, Glutamate, Glutamic Acid, Glutamic Acid HCl, Glutamina, Glutaminate, Glutamine Ethyl Ester, Glutamine Ethyl Ester HCl, Glutamine Methyl Ester, Glutamine Peptides, Levoglutamide, Levoglutamine, L-(+)-2-Aminoglutaramic Acid, L-Glutamic Acid, L-Glutamic Acid HCl, L-Glutamic Acid Hydrochloride, L-Glutamic Acid 5-Amide, N-Acetyl-L-Glutamine, Peptides de Glutamine, Q, (S)-2,5-Diamino-5-oxopentanoic Acid.
References
Source: WebMD, “Glutamine”, www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/