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Glutamic Acid (glutamate)

Specific Recommendations:

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News & Research:

• Glutamate in the brain has unexpected qualities, researchers show with new analysis method - Science Daily, 1/21/20 - "the brain regulates its signals using glutamate in more ways than previously realised. ... Glutamate, or glutamic acid, is found in proteins in food. It occurs naturally in meat, in almost all vegetables, and in wheat and soy. It is also used as a food additive to enhance flavours, for example in the form of MSG, or monosodium glutamate ... Glutamate is an amino acid, and an important part of our body. It is also a neurotransmitter which nerve cells use to communicate, and forms the basis for some of the brain's basic functions such as cognition, memory and learning. It is also important for the immune system, the function of the gastrointestinal tract, and to prevent microorganisms from entering the body" - See glutamic acid at Amazon.com.
• Boosting glutamate reduces anxiety in monkeys - Science Daily, 2/4/19 - "Hannah Clarke and colleagues were able to make anxious monkeys more comfortable with an unfamiliar human, who wore different masks to conceal his or her identity, by increasing glutamate release in the anterior hippocampus. In response to an unexpected loud sound, increased hippocampal glutamate was associated with increased blood pressure, heart rate, and scanning of the environment -- all of which are part of a typical threat response and reduced in anxious individuals. These effects depended on functioning of area 25, implicating this brain region and its connection to the hippocampus as a promising target for reducing anxiety."
• Glutamate plays previously unknown role in neuromuscular development - Science Daily, 9/20/16
• Transcranial direct current stimulation raises glutamate levels in humans - Science Daily, 9/19/16
• Glutamate: Essential food for the brain - Science Daily, 10/4/15 - "Devoid of the energy supplied by cerebral glutamate, the brain sends signals to the liver to requisition a compensatory proportion of glucose, at the expense of the rest of the body. This is why the transgenic mice also showed a growth deficit and muscle atrophy. "This clearly shows how the brain works in a just-in-time manner and that each percent of energy resources is essential for its proper functioning," highlights Professor Pierre Maechler. "If a part of this energy disappears, the brain serves itself first and the rest of the body suffers. The liver must then make more glucose by drawing upon muscle protein, resulting in loss of muscle mass. Knowing that the brain uses glutamate as an energy resource allows us to reflect on other ways to overcome a potential shortfall" - See l-glutamic acid at Amazon.com.
  • Is MSG really all that bad for you? - CNET, 8/25/14 - It's a 3 minute video. - See Aji No Moto Ajinomoto Monosodium Glutamate Umami Seasoning 454g / 1LB / 16oz HALAL at Amazon.com.
• Component Of Vegetable Protein May Be Linked To Lower Blood Pressure - Science Daily, 7/6/09 - "Researchers found that a 4.72 percent higher dietary intake of the amino acid glutamic acid as a percent of total dietary protein correlated with lower group average systolic blood pressure, lower by 1.5 to 3.0 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Group average diastolic blood pressure was lower by 1.0 to 1.6 mm Hg" - See l-glutamic acid at Amazon.com.

Abstracts:

• Effects of Five Amino Acids (Serine, Alanine, Glutamate, Aspartate, and Tyrosine) on Mental Health in Healthy Office Workers: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Exploratory Trial -Nutrients 2022 Jun 6 - "The importance of maintaining good mental health with overall well-being has recently drawn attention from various spheres of academics and the working population. Amino acid intake has been reported to reduce depression symptoms and other mental health problems. However, the effectiveness of amino acid intake (i.e., single or combined) remains unknown. In this study, we assessed a combination of five amino acids (serine, alanine, glutamate, aspartate, and tyrosine; SAGAT) reported to regulate mental health ... The current findings suggest that SAGAT contributes to maintaining proper motivation and cognitive function" - See serine at Amazon.com, beta-alanine at Amazon.com, glutamate supplements at Amazon.com, aspartate supplements at Amazon.com, and n-acetyl tyrosine at Amazon.com.
• Glutamate: A Safe Nutrient, Not Just a Simple Additive - Ann Nutr Metab 2022 Feb 16 - "Glutamate should be considered as a safe nutrient before as an additive by risk assessor" - See glutamate supplements at Amazon.com.
• Combination of aspartic acid and glutamic acid inhibits tumor cell proliferation - Biomed Res. 2016;37(2):153-9 - "Placental extract contains several biologically active compounds, and pharmacological induction of placental extract has therapeutic effects, such as improving liver function in patients with hepatitis or cirrhosis ... Active molecules were separated by chromatographic analysis, and their antiproliferative activities were determined by a colorimetric assay. We identified aspartic acid and glutamic acid to possess the antiproliferative activity against human hepatoma cells. Furthermore, we showed that the combination of aspartic acid and glutamic acid exhibited enhanced antiproliferative activity, and inhibited Akt phosphorylation. We also examined in vivo tumor inhibition activity using the rabbit VX2 liver tumor model. The treatment mixture (emulsion of the amino acids with Lipiodol) administered by hepatic artery injection inhibited tumor cell growth of the rabbit VX2 liver. These results suggest that the combination of aspartic acid and glutamic acid may be useful for induction of tumor cell death, and has the potential for clinical use as a cancer therapeutic agent" - See aspartic acid at Amazon.com and glutamic acid at Amazon.com.
• Dietary intakes of glutamic Acid and glycine are associated with stroke mortality in Japanese adults - J Nutr. 2015 Apr;145(4):720-8 - "Their diets were assessed by a validated food frequency questionnaire. Deaths from stroke were ascertained over 16 yr ... A high intake of glutamic acid in terms of a percentage of total protein was significantly associated with a decreased risk of mortality from total stroke in women after controlling for covariates; the HR (95% CI) for the highest vs. lowest quartile was 0.72 (0.53, 0.98; P-trend: 0.03). Glycine intake was significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality from total and ischemic stroke in men without history of hypertension at baseline; the HRs (95% CIs) for the highest vs. lowest tertile were 1.60 (0.97, 2.51; P-trend: 0.03) and 1.88 (1.01, 3.52; P-trend: 0.02), respectively"
• Glutamic Acid, the Main Dietary Amino Acid, and Blood Pressure. The INTERMAP Study (International Collaborative Study of Macronutrients, Micronutrients and Blood Pressure) - Circulation. 2009 Jul 6 - "Dietary glutamic acid (percentage of total protein intake) was inversely related to BP. Across multivariate regression models (model 1, which controlled for age, gender, and sample, through model 5, which controlled for 16 possible nonnutrient and nutrient confounders), estimated average BP differences associated with a glutamic acid intake that was higher by 4.72% of total dietary protein (2 SD) were -1.5 to -3.0 mm Hg systolic and -1.0 to -1.6 mm Hg diastolic (z scores -2.15 to -5.11)"
• The blood-brain barrier and glutamate - Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jul 1