Glutamate

Category: amino-acid

Aliases: Glu, E, Glutamic acid, L-Glutamate, MSG

Pharmacological Mechanism

Principal excitatory neurotransmitter in CNS; acts at AMPA, NMDA, kainate (ionotropic) and mGluR1-8 (metabotropic) receptors. TCA cycle α-KG ↔ Glu transamination hub. Enterocytes oxidise dietary glutamate extensively — little reaches systemic circulation. Precursor to GABA via GAD.

Dosing Guidelines

• PO: Typical 0.833 g (Range: 0.5–1.5 g)

Target Organ Systems

• nervous

Interactions

• GABA (synergistic): Glutamate is the precursor of GABA via glutamate decarboxylase (GAD). Balance of Glu/GABA sets CNS excitatory tone.

Pathways It Modulates

• Glutamate / glutamine cycle (substrate) — dominant excitatory neurotransmitter
• Glutaminolysis → TCA anaplerosis (substrate) — glutaminase product / downstream pool

Chemical Identifiers

• Molecular weight: 147.13 g/mol

References

• PMID 10837313