image by: Rejuvii

HWN Suggests

Glycine: The Amino Acid for Overall Health

You’re entitled to a good night’s sleep. Getting your “beauty sleep” isn’t vain if the alternative is puffy eyes, brain fog, and a lack of motivation. In order to relieve yourself of that under-eye baggage, you may need some assistance. Introducing glycine: an amino acid and neurotransmitter that could help you achieve a fairytale-like ending to your day.

Once upon a time—in 1820 to be precise—European chemist Henri Braconnot discovered glycine through the acid hydrolysis of gelatin. He boiled gelatin with sulfuric acid to break the gel down into its simpler components. The discovery was sweet, not just because of glycine’s potential, but also because of its properties.

read full article

Articles of Interest

GABA and Glycine

Glycine is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brainstem and spinal cord, where it participates in a variety of motor and sensory functions. Glycine is also present in the forebrain, where it has recently been shown to function as a coagonist at the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subtype of glutamate receptor.

GABA and glycine as neurotransmitters: a brief history

Amino acids that act as chemical neurotransmitters do not come any simpler in terms of structure than glycine. It is approximately 40 years since Aprison & Werman (1965) noted that the concentration of glycine in the spinal cord tissue is far higher than elsewhere in the brain and, because of this, it may have a role as a neurotransmitter.

Glycine neurotransmission: Its role in development

In addition to its role in cell metabolism, being the structurally simplest amino acid, glycine, acting through ionotropic receptors, also serves as an important and widely distributed inhibitory neurotransmitter that is most prominently expressed in adult brainstem, spinal cord, and retina of animals from several phyla.

Glycine neurotransmitter transporters: an update

Glycine accomplishes several functions as a transmitter in the central nervous system (CNS). As an inhibitory neurotransmitter, it participates in the processing of motor and sensory information that permits movement, vision, and audition.

Molecular Structure and Function of the Glycine Receptor Chloride Channel

The glycine receptor chloride channel (GlyR) is a member of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor family of ligand-gated ion channels. Functional receptors of this family comprise five subunits and are important targets for neuroactive drugs

Ouch!: Glycine puts extra hurt into pain neurons

The neurotransmitter glycine normally quenches pain's fire, but a new study suggests that it also stokes the flames. The work illuminates a mechanism that underlies chronic pain and suggests that blocking release of the neurotransmitter might relieve persistent aches.

Resources

10 Glorious Benefits of Glycine We All Should Know About

Interested in taking your health, performance, and sleep to the next level? One tiny amino acid—with not so tiny effects, may be able to assist you with it. This tiny but awesome amino acid is called Glycine.

4 Sleep Benefits of Glycine

You might not know it by name, but the tiny amino acid glycine is hard at work in your body right now, maintaining strength and support in your muscles and bones, helping keep your metabolism functioning right, supporting a healthy brain, and contributing to a good night’s sleep.