Sinoright Blog
Glycine, An Amino Acid that Fights Ageing
Glycine (abbreviated as Gly), also known as aminoacetic acid, is a non-essential amino acid with the chemical formula C2H5NO2. Glycine is a constituent amino acid of the endogenous antioxidant reduced glutathione, which is often supplemented exogenously in response to severe stress, and is sometimes referred to as a semi-essential amino acid. Glycine is one of the simplest amino acids, and was first discovered in 1820 by French chemist Henri Braconnot when he hydrolysed gelatin with sulphuric acid and called it "gelatinose". The gears of time rolled forward, and people's understanding of glycine became deeper and deeper.
Glycine
In 2021, the famous Baylor College of Medicine in the United States completed a 36-week human clinical trial, found that glycine and partner NAC (N-acetylcysteine) in combination for 24 weeks can make people "rejuvenation": 74-year-olds muscle strength and physical function improved dramatically, body fat decreased by 4%, waist circumference reduced by 4 cm. 4cm, and even cognitive function was greatly improved to the level of a 21-year-old. Most importantly, Glycine+NAC showed no toxic side effects in the elderly in this 36-week human trial. Glycine has not been studied in humans much, but there have been many findings in animals to explore glycine and age-related diseases.
Glycine Anti-aging Related Studies
It is not known if it is safe or if there may be side effects from giving glycine supplements to children, pregnant women, breastfeeding women, or people with kidney or liver disease. This means that it is now best to avoid using glycine supplements in these situations.Glycine supplements can also interact with certain medications when taken in high doses (such as medications used by people with mental disorders, including clozapine).
While glycine is very safe for most people (especially in food form), if you are taking medication, you need to seek your doctor's advice when starting any supplement. Stop taking amino acid supplements if you experience side effects such as indigestion and irritability.
Overall, a variety of animal studies have shown glycine to have anti-aging and life-extending properties, and there are now clinical studies confirming its anti-aging effects, but the number of human clinical studies as well as the data is not very large at this time, so it is only in the second tier of anti-aging candidates at this time. Because there were no adverse reactions in its subjects in its clinical studies, it proved to be highly safe, and subsequently, if its anti-aging and life extension advantages can be proved in more and more human studies, it will be highly sought after.