What is the Difference Between Glucosamine and Glutamine

The key difference between glucosamine and glutamine is that glucosamine is a naturally occurring sugar that can be found around our joints and ligaments, whereas glutamine is a conditionally essential amino acid that provides fuel for our gastrointestinal tract.

Glucosamine can be described as an amino sugar and a prominent precursor for many biochemical synthesis reactions involving proteins and lipids. Glutamine is one of the main amino acids that are not essential.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Glucosamine 
3. What is Glutamine
4. Glucosamine vs Glutamine in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Glucosamine vs Glutamine 

What is Glucosamine?

Glucosamine can be described as an amino sugar and a prominent precursor for many biochemical synthesis reactions involving proteins and lipids. This substance can be named as one of the most abundant monosaccharides and is included as parts of two polysaccharides: chitosan and chitin.

Commercially, glucosamine can be produced by hydrolysis of shellfish exoskeletons or rarely by the fermentation of a grain such as corn or wheat. It is mainly useful as a common dietary supplement. There is little evidence it is effective for the relief of arthritis and related pain. However, it is not a prescription drug.

This drug is naturally present in shells of shellfish, animal bones, bone marrow, and fungi. The D isomer of this amino acid forms naturally in the form of glucosamine-6-phosphate, which is a biochemical precursor of most nitrogen-containing sugars.

What is Glutamine?

Glutamine is one of the main amino acids that are not essential. We can abbreviate it as Gln. Its R group has an additional amine group. It is related to the structure of glutamic acid; however, glutamine has an amide side chain instead of the hydroxyl group of glutamic acid. Glutamine has the following structure:

Moreover, glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in human blood. Its concentration in blood is about 500-900 µmol/L. Glutamine is formed via the CAA and CAG codons. Moreover, it is synthesized from glutamate and ammonia in the presence of the glutamate synthetase enzyme. It is mainly produced in muscles, and small amounts are released from the lung and brain.

Glutamine has various functions in the biological systems. It participates in forming proteins like any other amino acids. Furthermore, glutamine is responsible for regulating the acid-base balance in kidneys. It functions as a nitrogen and carbon source as well as an energy source after glucose. The ammonia produced from the metabolic activities is toxic to cells when it is free. However, glutamine is a nontoxic way of transporting ammonia in the blood.

What is the Difference Between Glucosamine and Glutamine?

Although the names glucosamine and glutamine sound similar, they are different compounds. The key difference between glucosamine and glutamine is that glucosamine is a naturally occurring sugar that can be found around our joints and ligaments, whereas glutamine is a conditionally essential amino acid that provides fuel for our gastrointestinal tract.

The below infographic presents the differences between glucosamine and glutamine in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Glucosamine vs Glutamine

Glucosamine can be described as an amino sugar and a prominent precursor for many biochemical synthesis reactions involving proteins and lipids. Glutamine is one of the main amino acids that are not essential. The key difference between glucosamine and glutamine is that glucosamine is a naturally occurring sugar that can be found around our joints and ligaments, whereas glutamine is a conditionally essential amino acid that provides fuel for our gastrointestinal tract.

Reference:

1. Watford, Malcolm. “Glutamine and Glutamate: Nonessential or Essential Amino Acids?” Animal Nutrition (Zhongguo Xu Mu Shou Yi Xue Hui), KeAi Publishing, Sept. 2015.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Glucosamine Structural Formulae V.1” By Jü – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “L-Glutamate Structural Formulae” By Jü – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia