Alanyl-glutamine is a chemical compound which in the form L-alanyl-L-glutamine is used in dietary supplementation, in parenteral nutrition, and in cell culture. It is a dipeptide consisting of alanine and glutamine.
Dietary supplement
As a dietary supplement, alanyl-glutamine protects the gastrointestinal tract.
The protective effect reduces bacterial translocation, thus reducing the risk of infections and infection-related problems such as
diarrhea,
dehydration,
malabsorption, and
Osmoregulation.
Parenteral nutrition
At room temperature with 1 atmosphere of pressure,
L-alanyl-
L-glutamine has a
solubility of about 586 g/L, which is more than 10 times glutamine's solubility (35 g/L). Also, glutamine does not withstand sterilization procedures, whereas alanyl-glutamine does. Alanyl-glutamine's high solubility makes it valuable in parenteral nutrition.
Cell culture
In cell culture,
L-alanyl-
L-glutamine is sometimes used as a replacement for
L-glutamine because this dipeptide is stable in aqueous solution unlike
L-glutamine which spontaneously degrades to form
ammonia and pyrrolidine carboxylic acid. During cell culture,
L-alanyl-
L-glutamine is broken down into
L-glutamine which is an essential nutrient for the cells. Because the chemical compound
L-alanyl-
L-glutamine is broken down a little at a time, the cells have time to use the
L-glutamine that is formed before it is broken down into ammonia and pyrrolidine carboxylic acid. Ammonia tends to damage the cells, which means that when growing with a medium that uses
L-glutamine instead of
L-alanyl-
L-glutamine, it is necessary to change the cells' growth medium more often.
L-Alanyl-L-glutamine is sold under the name GlutaMAX by Thermo Fisher Scientific
