Therapeutic considerations of L-glutamine: a review of the literature.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative literature review without systematic search or meta-analytic methodology.
What was done
This paper is a narrative review summarizing the physiological roles and therapeutic potential of supplemental L-glutamine (administered orally, enterally, or parenterally) across trauma, surgery, and oncology settings based on literature available up to 1999.
What was found
The abstract provides no quantitative data or specific numerical results. It qualitatively describes that L-glutamine increases intestinal villous height, preserves gut mucosal integrity, prevents bacterial translocation, decreases infection incidence in trauma and surgical patients, and mitigates oral and gastrointestinal toxicities from cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy, with the caveat that it may potentially stimulate tumor growth.
Why it matters
It summarizes the biochemical and clinical rationale for glutamine as a conditionally essential nutrient to support gut barrier function and immune cell metabolism during severe catabolic stress.
Limits
The paper is a non-systematic narrative review with no defined search protocol, study quality grading, or meta-analytic pooling. The abstract omits human sample sizes, dosage details, specific trial designs, and quantified outcomes.
Cited by
- supports Glutamine is essential for immune cell activation and is metabolized by intestinal epithelial mitochondria as an energy source.