Effect of glutamine supplementation on intestinal barrier function and diarrhea in children

Introduction: Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body, that serving as a preferred respiratory fuel for rapidly proliferating cells, such as enterocytes and lymphocytes; a regulator of acid-base balance through the production of urinary ammonia; a carrier of nitrogen between tissues; and an important precursor of nucleic acids, nucleotides, amino sugars, and proteins. Some studies have shown that glutamine may become a conditionally essential amino acid in the critically ill. glutamine supplementation in catabolic states preserves intestinal mucosal structure and function, decreases bacterial translocation, and supports normal immunologic responses. Diarrhea illness with malnutrition remains a major killers of children worldwide. glutamine plays important roles in the gut integrity. This ammino acid stimulates NaCl absorption in intestinal mucosa. In this review, we reviewed the effect of glutamine supplementation on intestinal barrier function and diarrhea in children.Methods: We performed electronic searches from the PubMed and Scopus databases using the following key words: ( child OR pediatrics ) AND (glutamine) AND (diarrhea) AND (intestinal barrier function) to December 2019 Results: The results of current studies indicate enteral glutamine is safe and well tolerated in malnourished children with persistent diarrhea. in addition, the lactulose/mannitol ratio improved (decreased) in children receiving formula supplemented with glutamine. Conclusion: In child patient, glutamine supplementation may be associated with a reduction in diarrhea duration result from its local beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal mucosa, also enteral formula supplemented with glutamine was associated with an improvement in intestinal barrier function.