What Is Glutamate?

Glutamic acid is a 'non-essential' classified amino acid that is very common in plants and animals.
Besides being a building block of protein, glutamic acid is vital in the transmission of nerve impulses, and
is even manufactured in the brain.

Glutamate is the most abundant neurotransmitter in our brain and central nervous system (CNS). It is
involved in virtually every major excitatory brain function. While excitatory has a very specific meaning
in neuroscience, in general terms, an excitatory neurotransmitter increases the likelihood that the
neuron it acts upon will have an action potential (also called a nerve impulse).1 When an action
potential occurs the nerve is said to fire, with fire, in this case, being somewhat akin to the completion
of an electric circuit that occurs when a light switch is turned on. The result of neurons firing is that a
message can be spread throughout the neural circuit. It is estimated that well over half of all synapses in
the brain release glutamate, making it the dominant neurotransmitter used for neural circuit
communication.

Glutamate is also a metabolic precursor for another neurotransmitter called GABA (gamma-
aminobutyric acid). GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system.
Inhibitory neurotransmitters are essentially the flip-side of the coin—they decrease the likelihood that
the neuron they act upon will fire.

Because it is the main molecule promoting neuronal excitation, glutamate is the principal mediator of
cognition, emotions, sensory information, and motor coordination, and is linked to the activity of most
other neurotransmitter systems.2 But glutamate is not a “more is better” molecule. Glutamatergic
communication requires the right concentrations of glutamate be released in the right places for only
small amounts of time. Less than this results in poor communication. More than this can be neurotoxic
and can damage neurons and neural networks.

The most prevalent biosynthetic pathway synthesizes glutamate from glutamine using an enzyme called
glutaminase. Glutamine is the most abundant of the twenty amino acids the body uses to build proteins.
It can be produced in the body (so is categorized as non-essential). Most glutamine is made and stored
in muscle. Under certain circumstances, such as severe stress, the body can require more than it can
make. This has led many scientists to consider glutamine as being a conditionally essential amino acid. It
is one of the few amino acids that can directly cross the blood–brain barrier, so the glutamine pool in
muscle can be used to support the brain.
Glutamate can also be produced from glucose through a metabolic pathway that begins with the
conversion of glucose to pyruvate (a process called glycolysis). Pyruvate then ethers the tricarboxylic
acid (TCA) cycle (also called the Krebs cycle or citric acid cycle). The TCA cycle forms multiple important
intermediates. One of these intermediates is α-ketoglutarate (α-KG). α-KG can be used to produce
glutamate. An enzyme called glutamate dehydrogenase, which uses vitamin B3 (NAD+) as a coenzyme, is
responsible for this reaction. This same enzyme can reconvert glutamate back into α-KG. Because of this
enzyme, glutamate and α-KG can be continuously converted into each other.2 This dynamic equilibrium
is a key intersection between anabolic and catabolic pathways and allows the body to shift resources in
whichever direction is required.

An excess of glutamate is a primary contributing factor to a wide variety of neurological disorders like
autism, ALS, Parkinson’s schizophrenia, migraines, restless leg syndrome, Tourette’s, pandas,
fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s chorea, and seizures. As well as atrial fibrillation, insomnia,
bedwetting, hyperactivity, OCD, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and STIMS (repetitive self-
stimulatory behaviors like rocking, pacing, body spinning, hand-flapping, lining up or spinning toys,
echolalia, repeating rote phrases or other repetitive body movements or movement of objects that are
commonly seen in autistic children) and an increased risk of stroke. Too much glutamate can also
increase eosinophils (a particular type of white blood cell) which result in inflammation, impair blood
vessels that lead to migraines and blood pressure irregularities, and impair other areas of the brain like
the hypothalamus, hippocampal neurons, and Purkinje neurons which affect speech and language.

Monosodium glutamat _ food aditive

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is the Sodium Salt of Glutamic Acid or Glutamate. MSG was first
prepared in 1908 by Japanese biochemist Kikunae Ikeda, who was trying to isolate and duplicate the
savory taste of kombu, an edible seaweed used as a base for many Japanese soups.

There are two common forms of glutamic acid, L-glutamic acid and D-glutamic acid. L-glutamic acid
found in protein is referred to as 'bound' or 'protein bound' glutamic acid. In real, natural foods amino
acids are rarely free. Rather, they are linked or bound in long chains to other amino acids in peptides or
proteins. D-glutamic acid 'outside of protein' or 'free glutamic acid' is artificially and chemically
produced outside of the body. This is what is known as monosodium glutamate or MSG.

When we eat food containing protein, our body breaks it down or hydrolyzes it in the stomach and
lower intestines through the action of hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes. In a healthy person, the
body controls the amount of glutamic acid that it takes from protein. Excess glutamic acid is not stored
by the body, preventing toxicity. It is passed off as waste. Utilized this way, glutamic acid from eating
protein is harmless. In the chemical MSG manufacturing plant, however, the bound glutamic acid in the
above mentioned foods is broken down or made 'free of protein' by various processes (hydrolyzed,
autolyzed, modified or fermented with strong chemicals, acids, bacteria, or enzymes, which are often
genetically modified) and refined to a white crystal powder that resembles salt or sugar. Chemical MSG
contains 78% glutamate, 12.2% sodium, and 9.6% water. This chemical form is known as D-glutamic
acid.

Unlike other D-amino acids, D-glutamate is not oxidized by the D-amino acid oxidases; therefore, the
detoxification pathway is not available for handling D-glutamate. Likewise, D- glutamate when ingested,
largely escapes most deamination reactions (unlike its L-counterpart). D-glutamate is the most potent
natural inhibitor of glutathione synthesis identified to date and this may account for its localization to
the liver, since circulating D-glutamate may alter redox stability

Despite there is no problem if MSG is consumed in small amounts in one food, yet the problem is
present if small amounts are consumed daily in different foods. However, several studies in animals
have shown that MSG is toxic to various organs such as the liver, brain, thymus and kidneys. Decreased
levels of major anti-oxidant enzymes and increased lipid peroxidation have been demonstrated in the
kidneys of chronic MSG-exposed rats

Neurotoxic effects in brain, obesity and metabolic defects, „Chinese restaurant syndrome“ and
detrimental effects on sex organs are the most discussed in the connection with MSG intake.
Diferent receptors are used in the metabolism od D- and L-form.

The ingested glutamate effects on CNS must its connected to signalling from the gastrointestinal
tract.

Currently (2016), most global MSG is produced by bacterial fermentation in a process similar to making
vinegar or yogurt. Sodium is added later, for neutralization. During fermentation, Corynebacterium
species, cultured with ammonia and carbohydrates from sugar beets, sugarcane, tapioca or molasses,
excrete amino acids into a culture broth from which L-glutamate is isolated. The Kyowa Hakko Kogyo
Company developed industrial fermentation to produce L-glutamate.