Effects of glutamine alone or in combination with zinc and vitamin A on growth, intestinal barrier function, stress and satiety-related hormones in Brazilian shantytown children

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:To determine the impact of supplemental zinc, vitamin A, and glutamine alone or in combination on growth, intestinal barrier function, stress and satiety-related hormones among Brazilian shantytown children with low median height-for-age z-scores.METHODS:A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in children aged two months to nine years from the urban shanty compound community of Fortaleza, Brazil. Demographic and anthropometric information was assessed. The random treatment groups available for testing (a total of 120 children) were as follows: (1) glutamine alone, n = 38; (2) glutamine plus vitamin A plus zinc, n = 37; and a placebo (zinc plus vitamin A vehicle) plus glycine (isonitrogenous to glutamine) control treatment, n = 38. Leptin, adiponectin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), and plasma levels of cortisol were measured with immune-enzymatic assays; urinary lactulose/mannitol and serum amino acids were measured with high-performance liquid chromatography. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00133406.RESULTS:Glutamine treatment significantly improved weight-for-height z-scores compared to the placebo-glycine control treatment. Either glutamine alone or all nutrients combined prevented disruption of the intestinal barrier function, as measured by the percentage of lactulose urinary excretion and the lactulose:mannitol absorption ratio. Plasma leptin was negatively correlated with plasma glutamine (p = 0.002) and arginine (p = 0.001) levels at baseline. After glutamine treatment, leptin was correlated with weight-for-age (WAZ) and weight-for-height z-scores (WHZ) (p≤0.002) at a 4-month follow-up. In addition, glutamine and all combined nutrients (glutamine, vitamin A, and zinc) improved the intestinal barrier function in these children.CONCLUSION:Taken together, these findings reveal the benefits of glutamine alone or in combination with other gut-trophic nutrients in growing children via interactions with leptin.

Impact of acute undernutrition on growth, ileal morphology and nutrient transport in a murine model

“…In the present study, we demonstrated in a mouse model that the RBD (regional basic diet, from Northeastern Brazil) promotes undernutrition during a short period of consumption (7 consecutive days), with the objective to understand the early intestinal pathophysiology of undernourished children in developing countries ( 24 , 25 ). In this model, moderate acute undernutrition is characterized by impaired growth, decreased crypt depth with no alterations in villus area, reduced basal I sc and disturbance of gene transcription in intestinal components of the nutrient transport systems in the ileum, with no accompanying changes in protein expression.…”

Dietary Tryptophan Enhanced the Expression of Tight Junction Protein ZO‐1 in Intestine

“…Trp, as an essential amino acid in human nutrition, plays an important role in physical functions. Many studies have shown that dietary supplementation of L‐Trp could alleviate the stress response (Lima and others ). Our previous studies have shown that tryptophan supplementation reduced the catabolism of dietary amino acids and promoted protein synthesis in rats, promoted the oxidation of fatty acid, and reduced fat deposition in the body of rats (Jiang and others ).…”

Influence of functional food components on gut health

“…Vitamins are potent antioxidants: it was shown that dietary supplementation with vitamin E ameliorated hypoxia-induced intestinal damage in rats (Xu et al 2014). Also, in a double-blind trial conducted in Brazil, children prescribed with vitamin A, zinc and glutamine showed improved intestinal barrier function, possibly via interaction with leptin (Lima et al 2014). Dietary polysaccharides from wild jujube were shown to alleviate 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced intestinal barrier dysfunction in rats via modulation of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activities; and in the same study, the polysaccharides facilitated assembly of TJ proteins in Caco-2 cells stimulated with TNF-α (Yue et al 2015).…”