On 2010-06-22, Doug Freyburger wrote:
jay wrote:

What would have been the likely source of glutamine for humans in the
past? Is it basically plant foods (ie cabbage). Or is it meat?
Glutamine seems to tell the body not to store energy but instead to
burn it? Anybody know if other proteins do the same?

"Natural flavors" on labels are often glutamates. The term is used
because mono-sodium-glutamate MSG is well known and disliked but
glutamates improve flavor so other forms of glutamate are used.

Glutamate isn't glutamine. They are similar, but
with a key difference:

Glutamic acid (one of whose sodium salts is monosodium glutamate):

O O
|| ||
HO-C-C-C-C-C-OH
|
NH2

Glutamine is:

O O
|| ||
H2N-C-C-C-C-C-OH
|
NH2

The difference is the NH2 group on the end in place of the OH.

Though glutamine can be formed from glutamic acid, and this happens in your
body, MSG-loaded foods are not a way to get your L-glutamine.

The word unami comes from Japanese and the Japanese use foods high in
glutamates to increase unami in their foods to make them taste better.

That would be "umami".

Unami is a Japanese surname.