Effects of Glutamine Supplement on the Concentration of Free Tryptophan in Serum and Brain, and 5-hydroxytryptamine in Brain after Exhaustion Treadmill Running in Rat / 中国运动医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To examine the changes of brain inhibitory neurotransmitters and their precursors with glutamine supplement. The hypothesis is that the supplement of glutamine may delay the fatigue of central nervous system involved in exercise. Methods Rats were suffered with exhaustion treadmill running after different dosages of glutamine supplement of twenty days duration and sacrificed right after the running. Rat free tryptophan (F-Trp), branched chain amino acids (BCAA) in serum and brain, glucose in serum, and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in the brain had been quantified with the double blind procedure. Results The results showed that the serum glutamine had no statistical significance among each group. The ratios of F-Trp/BCAA in the serum and brain were lower significantly in large dosage group than the placebo group. The 5-HT level of large dosage group was lower significantly than the other groups, while serum glucose was significantly higher than all the other groups. The ratios of F-Trp/BCAA in the brain were lower significantly in small dosage glutamine supplement rats than the other groups. Conclusion The results suggest that glutamine supplement take advantage of the balance of serum glutamine level. Glutamine supplement improves rat central nerves performance in long time treadmill running, that may due to the decrease of precursor of inhibitory neurotransmitter and itself, and large dosage supplement is more effective than small one.