Recent findings suggest that the amino acid glutamine reduces Helicobacter pylori-associated pathology in mice and may therefore have similar effects in humans with gastric ulcers caused by H. pylori.
“The role of glutamine (Gln) in gastric mucosal protection has been reported previously for stress-, indomethacin-, and aspirin-induced ulcer formation and was thought to elicit protection by buffering acid back-diffusion and acid-induced mucosal damage,” Dr. Hagen’s team explains. “Although this may also be a means of protection early in H. pylori infection, before atrophy and achlorhydria occur, our data suggest that Gln also modulates the inflammatory response to H. pylori and affects the physiology of gastric epithelial cells throughout the course of infection.”
Hagen SJ et al. Inflammation and foveolar hyperplasia are reduced by supplemental dietary glutamine during Helicobacter pylori infection in mice. J Nutr. 2009 May;139(5):912-8. Epub 2009 Mar 4. View Abstract
