WHAT IT IS Pyroglutamate is a naturally occurring amino acid found in the brain, blood, and cerebrospinal fluid.
REPORTED EFFECTS Like DMAE, pyroglutamate is believed to have overall cognitive enhancement properties.
HOW IT WORKS Its role in brain chemistry is not yet well understood. Because it occurs naturally in the brain, replenishing pyroglutamate through dietary supplements is thought to stimulate cognitive function. No one is quite sure yet how it does this.
THE EVIDENCE Pyroglutamate has been shown to improve learning and memory, as well as counteract the effects of anxiety, in laboratory rats. In humans, one study has shown pyroglutamate to be effective in restoring alcohol-induced memory deficits; another demonstrated that it also works to counteract memory deficits in humans afflicted with multi-infarct dementia (dementia caused by reduced blood flow to brain tissue) and Age Associated Memory Impairment. However, these are early studies that have not yet been subsequently corroborated by other researchers’ results.
CAVEATS No adverse side effects have yet been reported from taking pyroglutamate, but the effects of long-term use as a supplement are not known.
DIETARY SOURCES This natural amino acid is found in fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and meat.
WHERE TO FIND IT You can find pyroglutamate sold as a nutritional supplement in health foods stores. John Morganthaler (coauthor with Dean of Smart Drugs and Nutrients) and Dean recommend a dosage of about 500 mg to 1,000 mg per day for arginine pyroglutamate (an alternate form of the amino acid), and a little less for straight pyroglutarnate.
COPYRIGHT 1998 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group