New Orleans-In March 2021, I published a column on positive effects. The conditionally essential amino acid L-glutamine provides these positive effects to reduce the symptoms of Covid-19 immune activation. 

In this column, I commented that the original Covid-19 research showed that people with comorbidities such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and lung diseases are at greater risk of serious Covid-19 complications.

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the blood. It is mainly released from skeletal muscle and then transported to multiple tissues. It is also used to make glutathione (GSH), a powerful antioxidant.

In October 2021, diversified researchers from Japan, China, and the United States reported in Cell Death and Differentiation (CDD) that “comorbidity-related glutamine deficiency is a susceptibility to severe COVID-19” — “although currently It is not clear whether supplementation of glutamine after infection will bring about overall positive results. In the era of COVID-19, preventively addressing glutamine deficiency in high-risk groups is a safe and simple protection strategy.

These researchers cited a 2012 study in the journal Circulation, which stated that the plasma glutamine and glutamine-glutamate ratios were negatively correlated with metabolic risk-leading to further studies to conclude that low levels of glutamine Aminoamide is negatively correlated with the severity of COVID-19 disease.

In severe cases, SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 can cause acute respiratory distress (ARD) and impair the body's ability to clot (clot). Autopsy of COVID-19 patients showed that the average weight of lungs was 3.2 times that of normal lungs-the name "heavy lung" was created, which is due to the excessive production of hyaluronic acid (HA), which is a kind of The extracellular matrix of glycosaminoglycan polymers is used as a lubricant or shock absorber in the body.

The overproduction of HA in the lungs is not an ideal phenomenon.

It seems that low glutamine status and high glucose levels may make high-risk COVID-19 populations more likely to produce large amounts of HA.

The authors of the study pointed out that “Glutamine deficiency in high-risk groups may have identified low levels of immune dysfunction and HA overproduction before infection.”

As for the antioxidant protection provided by glutamine, “after SARS-CoV-2 infection, cells will experience strong oxidative stress, which consumes intracellular glutamine to produce the antioxidant glutathione. This will further Exacerbating glutamine deficiency may lead to severe metabolic dysfunction in high-risk groups."

Researchers said that for the prevention and treatment of severe COVID-19, the first task is to solve the problem of glucose stability. "Studies have shown that supplementation with glutamine can lead to lower fasting blood glucose and postprandial blood glucose levels, and increase insulin production," as stated in the CDD research paper.

In some cases, glutamine supplements may be contraindicated. “In 2013, a randomized clinical trial study called REDOXS showed that the use of high-dose glutamine in critically ill patients was associated with increased mortality, but did not have any beneficial effects,” which led the researchers to comment, “Obviously, long-term The effects of glutamine use-long-term use of high-dose glutamine supplements needs to be carefully determined."

The authors of the CDD study concluded that “Glutamine deficiency and HA overproduction appear to be the main metabolic commonality. They are not only shared in COVID-19 comorbidities, but also lead to immune dysfunction that exacerbates SARS-CoV-2 infection. "

If you want to read the full research report, please visit maxwellnutrition.com.

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