Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2014;69(4):225-33.
doi: 10.6061/clinics/2014(04)02.

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

Aldo A M Lima  1 , Gregory M Anstead  2 , Qiong Zhang  3 , Ítalo L Figueiredo  1 , Alberto M Soares  1 , Rosa M S Mota  1 , Noélia L Lima  1 , Richard L Guerrant  1 , Reinaldo B Oriá  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

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

Aldo A M Lima et al. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2014.

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow of micronutrient supplementation and biochemistry blood testing to study growth, intestinal barrier function, stress and satiety related hormones in Brazilian shantytown children from Fortaleza, northeastern, Brazil, during June 2000 - August 2004, with follow-up between June 2000 and December 2007.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cumulative weight-for-height z-score (WHZ) with adjustment for age and season over eight months follow-up in Brazilian shantytown children from Fortaleza, northeastern, Brazil, treated with placebo, glutamine (Gln), and glutamine plus zinc (Zn) and vitamin A (VitA).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Correlation at baseline between leptin, plasma glutamine and arginine concentrations on control, glutamine alone or all nutrients combined. A. Correlation of plasma glutamine with arginine concentration. B. Correlation of leptin with glutamine concentration. C. Correlation of leptin with arginine concentrations.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Who working group. Use and interpretation of anthropometric indicators of nutritional status. Bull WHO. 1986;64(6):929–41. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Black RE, Allen LH, Bhutta ZA, Caulfield LE, de Onis M, Ezzati M, et al. Maternal and child undernutrition: global and regional exposures and health consequences. Lancet. 2008;371(9608):243–60. - PubMed
    1. Lima NL, Soares AM, Mota RM, Monteiro HS, Guerrant RL, Lima AA. Wasting and intestinal barrier function in children taking alanyl-glutamine-supplemented enteral formula. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2007;44(3):365–74. - PubMed
    1. Guerrant RL, Oria RB, Moore SR, Oria MO, Lima AA. Malnutrition as an enteric infectious disease with long-term effects on child development. Nutr Rev. 2008;66(9):487–505. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Niehaus MD, Moore SR, Patrick PD, Derr LL, Lorntz B, Lima AA, et al. Early childhood diarrhea is associated with diminished cognitive function 4 to 7 years later in children in a northeast Brazilian shantytown. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2002;66(5):590–3. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Associated data