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Alpha ketoglutarate

Alpha-ketoglutarate is an organic salt which possesses a number of physiological uses. It has ability to enhance hepatic detoxification capacity when administered in high dosage to patients with liver cirrhosis. Arginine alpha-ketoglutarate has various uses as a source of alpha-ketoglutarate. By virtue of its role in the amino acid synthesis pathway, alpha-ketoglutarate exerts strong regulatory control over protein metabolism. The amino acids ornithine and glutamine are combined to form ornithine alpha-Ketoglutarate (OKG). Ornithine alpha-Ketoglutarate affects human metabolism through three primary mechanisms: as an anabolic agent (releasing human growth hormone, HGH), as an anti-catabolic agent, and as an inducer of protein synthesis. All three mechanisms contribute to muscular development and enhanced recovery. OKG has been used to treat patients suffering from burns, surgery, malnutrition and other trauma. OKG treatment decreases muscle protein catabolism (breakdown) and/or increases protein synthesis, in addition to promoting wound healing. OKG may promote the secretion of anabolic hormones such as insulin and HGH and increase amino acid metabolism (glutamine & arginine), which may help explain some of the clinical findings. OKG supplements have been shown to improve protein retention, would repair, and immune function in hospitalized patients partly by increasing levels of anabolic (growth-promoting) hormones such growth hormone. Alpha-ketoglutarate also possesses antioxidative properties. The non-enzymatic oxidative decarboxylation of alpha-keto acids is shown to be involved in the hydrogen peroxide decomposition process. As part of the pathway leading to the citric acid cycle, alpha-ketoglutarate is crucial to energy generation. In collagen synthesis, alpha-ketoglutarate plays an important role as one of the cofactors of prolyl hydroxylase and lysyl hydroxylase, enzymes responsible for hydroxylation of proline and lysine residues. Alpha-ketoglutarate is also highly effective in preventing glycosylation/glycation of proteins associated with diabetic complications such as atherosclerosis, cataract formation, and retinopathy, and mere aging. Protein-bound advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) can exert cytotoxic effects on neighboring cells and are, for example, the structural components of beta-amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease. Administration of alpha-ketoglutarate, however, attenuates the cytotoxicity of these AGEs via the compound's competitive inhibition of protein glycation and antioxidant properties.

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