Isoleucine is an essential amino acid, meaning that the human body cannot synthesize it and it must be obtained through dietary sources. It plays a vital role in various physiological processes. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the potential benefits and side effects associated with isoleucine intake, drawing upon available research and expert opinions.
Introduction to Isoleucine
Isoleucine, along with leucine and valine, belongs to the group of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). These amino acids are characterized by their unique branched molecular structure. Isoleucine is crucial for hemoglobin synthesis, the protein molecule in red blood cells responsible for carrying oxygen throughout the body. Also, isoleucine has a role in regulating energy and blood sugar levels.
Potential Benefits of Isoleucine
While ongoing research continues to explore the full extent of isoleucine's benefits, here are some areas where it may offer potential advantages:
Blood Sugar Control
Isoleucine may be helpful to diabetics and other people trying to keep their blood sugar levels under control. Research using normal animal subjects reveals that just one oral dose of isoleucine significantly decreased plasma glucose levels.
Muscle Recovery and Reduced Soreness
Some bodybuilders and athletes take BCAAs for the possibility that they will decrease post-workout muscle damage and soreness. According to a systemic review published in 2017 in the journal Nutrients, some studies have shown that BCAAs supplementation can be successful at reducing exercise-induced muscle damage.
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Fatigue Reduction
BCAAs appear to limit the uptake of tryptophan by the brain while also reducing synthesis of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in the brain, which is another factor that has been suggested to cause fatigue.
Other Potential Benefits
Isoleucine is involved in boosting energy and improving endurance. As an essential amino acid, isoleucine is very much needed by the body to function optimally. The isoleucine amino acid is also believed to mediate glucose uptake into a cell and break it down into energy.
Sources of Isoleucine
If you eat enough protein in your diet, you will get all of the isoleucine your body needs.
Dietary Sources
If you’re comparing leucine vs. isoleucine, both are branched-chain amino acids. This means they have a similar chemical structure. What foods contain isoleucine? What foods have leucine, isoleucine and valine?
Supplementation
You can also take this essential amino acid as a standalone supplement. However, it’s typically recommended to take a balanced branch-chain amino acids supplement that includes all three. A common recommendation is to look for products that have a 2:1:1 ratio of leucine: isoleucine: valine.
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Potential Side Effects and Risks of Isoleucine Supplementation
While isoleucine is generally considered safe when consumed through a balanced diet, supplementation, especially with high doses or single amino acids, may pose certain risks:
Negative Nitrogen Balance
Using a single amino acid supplement can cause a negative nitrogen balance in the body, which can decrease how well your metabolism works and cause your kidneys to work harder.
Growth Problems in Children
For children, supplementing with a single amino acid may lead to growth problems.
Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD)
The inability to break down isoleucine and other BCAAs is associated with an inherited condition called maple syrup urine disease or MSUD, which causes urine to be discolored and smell sweet similar to maple syrup. MSUD can be mild or come and go, but even in its mildest form, repeated periods of physical stress can cause mental disability and high levels of leucine amino acid to buildup. Severe cases of MSUD can cause brain damage as a result of periods of physical stress, including fever, infection or not eating for a long time.
Common Side Effects of BCAA Supplementation
Possible side effects of supplementation with BCAAs include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach bloating, fatigue and loss of coordination.
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General Risks of Excessive Amino Acid Intake
Several studies have examined possible toxic, mutagenic, cancerogenic and teratogenic effects of high doses of specific amino acids and tried to assess the safe limits of their increased intake. Many studies have evaluated effects on the digestive system, for example, whether or not nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea are present. However, there are a number of other side effects, which are evaluated only sporadically, although they can be harmful, especially in children, pregnancy, elderly, and illness. For example, experimental studies have clearly demonstrated that some amino acids, such as glutamine (GLN) and arginine (ARG), are essential for growth of tumor cells. The dangerous may be increased production of ammonia in individuals with impaired hepatic or renal function, especially after consumption of high amount of amino acids with several nitrogen atoms, such as GLN, histidine (HIS), and ARG. Furthermore, increased intake of one or more amino acids can cause imbalance in amino acid concentrations, increase concentrations of its metabolites, and affect the transport of a group of amino acids into cells due to competition for a carrier at the cell membrane. In summary, it may be assumed that chronic intake of high amounts of individual amino acid or its derivatives alters various biochemical pathways and cellular functions.
Effects of BCAA Load on Amino Acid Metabolism
BCAA administration leads to the release of GLN, alanine and BCKA from muscles. Glutamine is catabolized in visceral tissues to form ammonia. Part of the BCKA released from the muscles is used for BCAA synthesis. On the other hand, ammonia detoxification to GLN increases flux of BCAA through BCAA aminotransferase and the drain of α-KG from citric cycle. Because BCAA are transported into the brain via a common transporter for large neutral amino acids, the excess of BCAA may lower brain uptake of other neutral amino acids, such as phenylalanine, tyrosine, HIS, and tryptophan (TRP), which are precursors of dopamine, norepinephrine, histamine, and serotonin. This phenomenon, which is a rationale for use of the BCAA to prevent hepatic encephalopathy and onset of fatigue during exercise, might have detrimental effect on mental functions of patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Chronic Isoleucine Supplementation and Obesity
Chronic isoleucine supplementation prevents diet-induced weight gain in rodents. Acute-isoleucine administration improves glucose tolerance in rodents and reduces postprandial glucose levels in humans. However, the effect of chronic-isoleucine supplementation on body weight and glucose tolerance in obesity is unknown.
Study on Mice
Male C57BL/6-mice, fed a standard-laboratory-diet (SLD) or HFD for 12 weeks, were randomly allocated to: (1) Control: Drinking water; (2) Acute: Drinking water with a gavage of isoleucine (300 mg/kg) prior to the oral-glucose-tolerance-test (OGTT) or gastric-emptying-breath-test (GEBT); (3) Chronic: Drinking water with 1.5% isoleucine, for a further six weeks. At 16 weeks, an OGTT and GEBT was performed and at 17 weeks metabolic monitoring. In SLD- and HFD-mice, there was no difference in body weight, fat mass, and plasma lipid profiles between isoleucine treatment groups. Acute-isoleucine did not improve glucose tolerance in SLD- or HFD-mice. Chronic-isoleucine impaired glucose tolerance in SLD-mice. There was no difference in gastric emptying between any groups. Chronic-isoleucine did not alter energy intake, energy expenditure, or respiratory quotient in SLD- or HFD-mice.
High Fat Diet (HFD) Feeding and Isoleucine
High fat diet (HFD) feeding but not the chronic isoleucine treatment increased weight gain and adiposity in mice. High fat diet (HFD) feeding but not chronic isoleucine treatment increased the liver mass and lipid content in mice. High fat diet (HFD) feeding but not the chronic isoleucine treatment affects energy balance in mice. High fat diet (HFD) feeding but not the chronic isoleucine treatment elevated plasma lipid metabolites in mice.
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