Effects of glutamine and arginine combination on pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines

Cytokines were beneficial for diagnosis and treatment, which in clinical situations introduced from the perspective of pro and anti-inflammatory effects. An inflammatory response is commonly associated with various severe traumatic insults that consequently recruit the immune cells into the target organs and causing systemic inflammatory response that can lead to sepsis. Immune-modulating nutrients, such as glutamine and arginine, are known as pathophysiological modulate in inflammation.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of oral gavage supplementation with a combination of glutamine and arginine on inflammatory cytokines in intestinal mucosa, specifically jejunum.

Sixteen Rattus norvegicus rats (average weight 150-200 g) were randomly divided into two groups: groups A and B, both intraperitoneal injected by 2 ml NaCl 0.9%. Group A orally supplemented with 1 ml dextrose 5% daily, meanwhile, group B orally supplemented with 1 ml combination of glutamine and arginine (contains 250 mg/kg glutamine and 250 mg/kg arginine) daily. The experiment lasted for 3 days. We compared the pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10, NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-8, and MMP-8) between the two groups by the Mann-Whitney test.

More IL-10, TNF-α, and IL-8 cytokine-produced cells found in group A. Group B produced significantly lower TNF-α (p = 0.009) and IL-8 (p = 0.003). The number of NF-κB and MMP-8 were slightly higher in group B.

Giving a combination of glutamine and arginine as nutrition supplementation has beneficial effects in decreasing almost half of the cells that produce TNF-α and IL-8. Further studies must be carried out to support a standard guideline for this recommendation.