Glutamate Supplementation in Young Men

Summary

Amino acids play an important role in human metabolism. In aging individuals and in some diseases, certain amino acids, such as glutamate, are at lower than normal levels. Glutamate appears to be involved in providing energy and maintaining normal blood sugar (glucose) levels, processes which both depend heavily on skeletal muscle. The maintenance of healthy blood sugar levels, in particular, is tightly related to overall muscle mass and quality. To better understand the link between glutamate and glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle, the investigators will be using a nutritional approach to raise the body's glutamate levels with monosodium glutamate (MSG) supplementation, and raise blood glucose levels with a sugary drink. By altering the normal levels of glutamate and glucose in the blood and muscle tissue, the investigators can gather more information about the role of glutamate in energy metabolism. This will help the design of future studies investigating the function of glutamate in aging and disease. During this study the investigators will increase the levels of glutamate and glucose in the bloodstream by asking participants to ingest MSG along with a sugary drink. The goal is to subsequently determine: A) the amount of glutamate and glucose that ends up in the muscle; and B) whether normal skeletal muscle glucose metabolism, and the behaviour of additional amino acids (other than glutamate) is altered. The hypothesis is that when MSG and sugar drink are ingested together glucose uptake and metabolism within the skeletal muscle will be elevated.

Conditions

• Healthy

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

MSG

150 mg/kg body mass monosodium glutamate (MSG).

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

CHO

75g CHO (i.e. dextrose)

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Placebo A

A non-caloric placebo composed of table salt (NaCl) and sucralose (Splenda).

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Placebo B

A non-caloric placebo composed of flavoured water.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Waterloo

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Marina Mourtzakis, PhD · University of Waterloo

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

35 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-03-19

Primary Completion

2018-10-02

Completion

2018-10-02

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations