Glutamine is an amino acid (a building block for proteins), found naturally in the body.
Glutamine is taken by mouth for sickle cell disease, to improve nutrition and help people recover from surgery, injuries, burns, bone marrow transplant, complications of HIV/AIDS, radiation, and cancer chemotherapy, and for many other uses. Glutamine is given intravenously (by IV) for improving recovery after surgery and other conditions.
Glutamine is commercially available as capsules or in packets as a powder form. Endari (Emmaus Medical, Inc) is a prescription glutamine product approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
- Sickle cell disease.  A specific oral glutamine powder (Endari, Emmaus Medical, Inc) is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce acute complications of sickle cell disease.
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- Burns.  Oral glutamine seems to improve healing in patients with severe burns and may also reduce the risk for burn wound infections.
Login for details - Critical illness (trauma).  Oral and intravenous glutamine seem to reduce infectious complications in critically ill adults. However, glutamine does not seem to reduce mortality in this population.
Login for details - HIV/AIDS-related wasting.  Oral glutamine seems to attenuate weight loss related to HIV/AIDS.
Login for details - Postoperative recovery.  Oral or intravenous glutamine seems to reduce the duration of hospitalization and improve postoperative nutritional status in adults. However, it does not seem to reduce postoperative mortality.
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- Athletic performance.  Oral glutamine does not seem to improve athletic performance.
Login for details - Crohn disease.  Oral glutamine does not seem to improve symptoms of this condition.
Login for details - Cystinuria.  Oral glutamine does not seem to improve cystinuria.
Login for details - Low birth weight.  Oral glutamine does not seem to reduce adverse consequences of low birth weight in infants.
Login for details - Muscular dystrophy.  Oral glutamine does not seem to improve symptoms of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Login for details - Prematurity.  Oral glutamine does not seem to reduce morbidity or mortality associated with prematurity.
Login for details - Radiation-induced diarrhea.  Oral glutamine does not seem to improve diarrhea due to radiation therapy.
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- Antiretroviral-associated diarrhea.  It is unclear if oral glutamine improves diarrhea caused by antiretroviral agents.
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- Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Login for details
- Chemotherapy-induced diarrhea.  It is unclear if oral glutamine improves diarrhea caused by chemotherapy.
Login for details - Chemotherapy-induced lymphocytopenia.  It is unclear if oral glutamine reduces lymphocytopenia caused by chemotherapy.
Login for details - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).  It is unclear if oral glutamine is beneficial in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia.
Login for details - Cystic fibrosis.  It is unclear if oral glutamine improves growth and development in children with cystic fibrosis.
Login for details - Diabetic foot ulcers.  Oral glutamine has only been evaluated in combination with other ingredients; its effect when used alone is unclear.
Login for details - Diarrhea.  It is unclear if oral glutamine improves diarrhea in children and infants.
Login for details - Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).  It is unclear whether oral glutamine or glutamine added to parenteral nutrition improves morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing HSCT. Some research has suggested that intravenous glutamine may actually worsen outcomes.
Login for details - Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).  There is limited evidence on the oral use of glutamine in patients with postinfectious, diarrhea-predominant IBS.
Login for details - Lung cancer.  It is unclear if oral glutamine improves survival in patients with advanced lung cancer.
Login for details - Malnutrition.  It is unclear if oral alanyl-glutamine improves height and weight in children at risk for malnutrition.
Login for details - Obesity.  It is unclear if oral glutamine is beneficial for weight loss.
Login for details - Opioid withdrawal.  Oral glutamine has only been evaluated in combination with other ingredients; its effect when used alone is unclear.
Login for details - Oral mucositis.  There is contradictory evidence about the effects of glutamine in patients with, or at risk of developing, oral mucositis from chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Login for details - Paclitaxel-induced myalgia and arthralgia.  It is unclear if oral glutamine reduces the risk for myalgias and arthralgias due to paclitaxel.
Login for details - Pancreatitis.  It is unclear if oral glutamine improves outcomes in patients with acute pancreatitis.
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- Pressure ulcers.  Oral glutamine has only been evaluated in combination with other ingredients; its effect when used alone is unclear.
Login for details - Radiation dermatitis.  It is unclear if oral glutamine reduces the risk of developing dermatitis from radiation therapy.
Login for details - Radiation-induced esophagitis.  It is unclear if oral glutamine reduces the risk of developing esophagitis from radiation therapy.
Login for details - Short bowel syndrome.  It is unclear if oral glutamine improves symptoms of short bowel syndrome.
Login for details - Vincristine-induced neuropathy.  It is unclear if oral glutamine reduces the risk of developing neuropathy from treatment with vincristine in children.
Login for details - Wound healing.  It is unclear if oral glutamine improves wound healing.
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Glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in the body. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Glutamine is produced in the muscles and is distributed by the blood to the organs that need it. 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.
When taken by mouth: Glutamine is LIKELY SAFE for most adults when taken by mouth in doses up to 40 grams daily. Side effects are generally mild and may include bloating, nausea, dizziness, heartburn, and stomach pain. Some people find the grittiness of glutamine in water to be unpleasant when taken by mouth.
When given by IV: Glutamine is LIKELY SAFE for most adults when given by IV in doses up to 600 mg/kg of body weight daily.
Special Precautions & Warnings:
Children: Glutamine is LIKELY SAFE when taken by mouth in doses up to 0.7 grams/kg body weight daily or when given by IV in doses up to 400 mg/kg body weight daily. Not enough information is known about the safety of higher doses of glutamine 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.
Liver disease: Glutamine can increase the risk for reduced brain function in people with advanced liver disease (hepatic encephalopathy). Do not use it.
Bipolar disorder: Glutamine might increase the risk for mania or hypomania in people with this condition.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) sensitivity: If you are sensitive to MSG, you might also be sensitive to glutamine, because the body converts glutamine to glutamate.
Seizures: There is some concern that glutamine might increase the likelihood of seizures in some people. Avoid use.
Lactulose
Interaction Rating=Moderate Be cautious with this combination.
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)
Interaction Rating=Moderate Be cautious with this combination.
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)
Interaction Rating=Moderate Be cautious with this combination.
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.
There are no known interactions with herbs and supplements.
There are no known interactions with foods.
The following doses have been studied in scientific research:
ADULTS
BY MOUTH:
- For burns: 0.35-0.5 grams per kilogram body weight each day or 4.3 grams every four hours.
- For critical illness (trauma): Glutamine has been given in a liquid feed at 0.2-0.6 grams per kilogram body weight each day or at a dose of 20 grams per day has been used. It is usually given for at least 5 days.
- For sickle cell disease: 5-15 grams of prescription glutamine taken twice daily for 48 weeks in people with sickle cell disease 5 years of age or older has been used with or without the conventional medication hydroxyurea.
- For involuntary weight loss in people with HIV/AIDS: 14-40 grams of glutamine per day has been used in combination with other nutrients.
- For burns: 0.57 grams of glutamine per kilogram body weight each day has been used for 30 days.
- For critical illness (trauma): 0.3-0.5 grams per kilogram or 18-21 grams of glutamine compounds have been given daily, sometimes with hormones.
- For recovery after surgery: 0.57 grams of glutamine per kilogram body weight has been used after bone marrow transplantation. Also, 20 grams of glutamine per day or 0.3-0.4 grams per kilogram body weight has been used in people undergoing surgery. Sometimes glutamine is given in the form of glutamine dipeptide. Typically, 18-30 grams of glutamine dipeptide is used. This amount is equivalent to 13-20 grams of glutamine.
BY MOUTH:
- For critical illness (trauma): 0.3 grams per kilogram has been given daily.
- For sickle cell disease: 5-15 grams of prescription glutamine taken twice daily for 48 weeks in children 5 years of age or older has been used.
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