Archive | 2021
Glutamine supplementation: hope, hype, or stay tuned?
Abstract
Abstract Glutamine is a conditionally essential amino acid required in numerous biological roles. These roles include serving as a building block in protein and deoxyribonucleic acid biosynthesis, as an energy source for adenosine triphosphate production, a requirement in cell proliferation, with roles in acid–base balance, ammonia buffering, immunomodulatory roles, and other roles still being discovered. Because of these biological roles, glutamine supplementation has been used in biological applications including post-surgery recovery, cancer treatments, AIDS therapy, and oral rehydration solutions for diarrhea. Glutamine has also been marketed as a general health supplement in sports nutrition to fight fatigue. While glutamine seems to help improve certain markers of fatigue, it does not necessarily help in actual sports performance. The dipeptide form of glutamine–alanine may be a more effective approach for a number of health situations. More research may help clarify formats and which applications glutamine supplementation is appropriate for.