Healthcare workers are evaluating the importance of amino acids in our diets and marketing them as individual food supplements, e.g. tryptophane importance in formation of the neurotransmitter serotonin a substitute for a sleeping pill- It is well recognized that it is more healthier to eat a banana in the evening rather than take a sleeping pill ; the sister amino acids Phenylalanine & tyrosine powerful antidepressant because of their involvement in dopamine and epinephrine production. Other amino acids marketed include sulfur containing amino acids cysteine, glutathione, taurine, methionine and ornithine.
Early studies Reviewed:
Essential nutrients amino acids may function via other routes Years ago Dr.Whitaker in one of his many Newsletters discussing mongolism and the role of the enzyme SOD and free radicals also suggested that the "rag doll features " were related to abnormal amounts of certain amino acids in the body as a result of genetic overload (trisomy chromosome 21 ). In 1952 for my M.Sc. thesis at the U of Alberta I demonstrated that certain amino acids could alter the virulence of a root rot plant pathogen Helminthosporium sativum to wheat if they were added individually to Cpapek's -the culture medium on which the fungus was cultivated. I reasoned that the mechanism for this loss of virulence may be due to the phenomenon of heterokaryosis- i.e a selection of whole nuclei of non virulent strains by the culture medium- Note: The gametophytic generation (N or haploid nuclei ) in moulds is the predominant generation .They contain only one set of chromosomes-N so the phenomenon of heterokaryosis readily occurs. I went on to suggest that in the fields certain strains of wheat may be resistant to this cereal root rot pathogen because they secrete into the immediate environment around the roots (called the rhizosphere ) those amino acids which then select and/or favor the growth of strains (haploid nuclei) of this pathogen which are less virulent. Proof for such a genetic basis could easily be tested since for my doctorate 3 years later at the U. of Toronto I detailed Ascus formation ( the 2N or sporophytic generation ) for this fungus Cochliolbolus sativus). I never did this genetic analysis as a year after I received my doctorate I applied for Medicine at the U of Manitoba and was accepted and then practiced Medicine and did medical research for over 35 years.
Recent studies:
Life Extension Update (Oct 5/2010) singled out the research of scientists from Milan who found that the branched amino acids like leucine, isoleucine and valine extend the life span of mice when added to their diet.
The recent newsletter from the U of Alberta detailed the importance of arginine in the diet for fighting infections in mice, the mechanism they suggest was mainly its role in stimulating the immune system. According to S.S.Hendler (The complete guide to anti-aging nutrients, 1984) this amino acid is believed to have many other properties- it speeds wound healing, inhibits cancer, stimulates the effect of growth hormone, increases sexual activity and is also required for normal sperm production.
Some potential or theoretical human applications.
Maybe the reason some individuals get dental caries is related to the micro nutrient environment around teeth which favors the growth of bacterial strains which cause caries in some cases but not in other- just like the rhizosphere around the roots of plants root rot pathogens. What about the flora and fauna in our 40 foot digestive canal- remember all its contents are outside the body. Could such a mechanism work here?
It may be time for scientists to return and/or review their 101 university entrance courses- Like microbiology, tumor biology, genetics and cytogenetics-, and others which I recall from my doctorate studies in Toronto labelled physiology of parasitism - courses that many of our modern scientists may find beneficial- Research often is just rediscovery
SBH Oct 05/2010
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