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Abstract

The role of glutamine in metabolism has been recognized for over 40 years. Glutamine is an essential nutrient for all rapidly proliferating cells and growing tissues, including cancer. Glutamine supplementation may be beneficial to patients with longstanding inflammatory activity, who are not producing sufficient quantities of glutamine. The availability of glutamine may be reduced by malnutrition or failure to meet the demands of imposed by critical illnesses [1]. This is supported by observations suggesting that glutamine supplementation may be beneficial in critically ill patients, particularly those who have suffered trauma or burns. Although results are contradictory, some large multicentre studies have shown that glutamine may reduce infectious complications and improve insulin sensitivity [1].