Glutamine and Its Actions: A Bird’s Eye View

Glutamine (Gln) is the most abundant amino acid in the body, playing a versatile role in both maintaining homeostasis and contributing to various pathologies. This review explores the physiological functions of Gln, detailing its enzymatic synthesis and degradation, as well as its role across different organs, tissues and systems in both normal and pathological conditions. This review is a search of relevant topics related with Gln and its actions;its key areas discussed include the immune system, heat shock proteins, skeletal muscle, central nervous system, the intestinal mucosal barrier, liver, kidney, gluconeogenesis, types 1 and 2 diabetes, burns, cancer, and hepatic encephalopathy. While Gln demonstrates numerous beneficial effects, it can also contribute to adverse outcomes in specific diseases, such as cancer and hepatic encephalopathy. Despite these complexities, it is crucial to keep searching for glutamine’s role in health and disease. Understanding how Gln supplementation may support patients taking multidrug therapy to reduce the need for certain medications, and enhancing treatment adherence and disease management is particularly important.