Protective effect of glutamine on intestinal barrier in hepatic cirrhosis patients

Objective To investigate the effect of glutamine(GLN)on intestinal barrier of hepatic cirrhosis patients. Methods Forty patients with hepatic cirrhosis were randomly allocated into two groups:experimental group and control group.The patients in experiment group received oral administration of glutamine based on conventional treatment,while the patients in control group received conventio-nal treatment.The levels of endotoxin,diamine oxidase,tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and urinary lactulose/mannitol(L/M)ratio were determined after treatment for six weeks.The data were compared before and after treatment in 2 groups. Results After six weeks,the content of endotoxin in experimental group was lower than that before treatment(P0.05),but there was no significant difference in control group(P0.05).The contents of diamine oxidase,TNF-α and urinary L/M ratio were lower after treatment than that before treatment(P0.05).However,the change scope in experimental group was significantly higher than that in control group(P0.05). Conclusion Oral administration of glutamine granules can obviously reduce the endotoxin level in hepatic cirrhosis patient,and effectively maintain the function of intestinal barrier.