Short time L-glutamine supplementation of malnourished rats
Keywords:
amino acids, dietary supplements, glutamine, malnutrition, nitrogen, ratsAbstract
Objective
Considering that in malnourished patients supplemented with L-glutamine the negativity of the nitrogen balance tends to decrease, the present study aimed to determine whether malnourished Wistar rats supplemented with L-glutamine would show lower urinary nitrogen excretion, a greater deposition of nitrogen content in different tissues, and/or an alteration in the plasma amino acid levels.
Methods
The rats were divided into groups: 1) protein-energy malnutrition, 2) protein malnutrition and 3) normally nourished group. The urinary and tissue nitrogen contents were determined by the Kjeldahl method and plasma amino acids by liquid chromatography.
Results
Weight, urinary and tissue nitrogen accumulation were significantly reduced in the group with protein-energy malnutrition, but did not improve with L-glutamine supplementation supplied for a short time. The plasma amino acid concentrations showed no special pattern with L-glutamine supplementation.
Conclusion
It was concluded that it was not possible to detect any positive effect of L-glutamine supplementation on the tissue and urinary nitrogen metabolism in malnourished rats.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Andréa Ferreira Schuwartz TANNUS, Márcia Morandi JUNQUEIRA-FRANCO, Vivian Marques Miguel SUEN, Guilherme Vannucchi PORTARI, Júlio Sérgio MARCHINI
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