Quinolinic acid is a neurotoxic substance produced by our own bodies and a metabolite of tryptophan.
Tryptophan and its different pathways:
The management of tryptophan converting to serotonin within the brain has some complex moving parts. Tryptophan gets converted into serotonin. High levels of stress of any type and acute/chronic infections can change this process by provoking an immune system response. Instead of serotonin being made from tryptophan in this process, two other compounds are eventually made: They are kynurenic acid which is neuroprotective and quinolinic acid which is neurodegenerative.The quinolinic acid is a NMDA-agonist, i.e. quinolinic acid, NMDA, and inflammation are best friends and like to wreak havoc when kynurenic acid is lacking. Recent research showed that patients suffering from severe depression and suicidality were found to have very high levels of inflammation and elevated NMDA activity as a result of long-term dysregulation of this pathway. The researchers’ recommended goal was to find ways to dampen the NMDA receptors and quinolinic acid in the brain.
Treatment:
The cause of inflammation needs to be treated. Simply taking SSRI drugs (Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) to make more serotonin further downstream is not going to work. The drug use and application generally fails to address the inflammation. The drugs simply try to increase the amount of serotonin within the system at the synapses, but the underlying damaging inflammation is still ongoing. This process also affects cognitive health, which has great implications for all neurodegenerative concerns. When the brain is on fire with inflammation leading to depression, anxiety, sleep problems, cognitive changes, it has to be thoroughly addressed. SSRIs miss this inflammatory aspect.
Resources:
- NMDA receptor function, memory, and brain aging (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181613/)
- A mechanism of quinolinic acid formation by brain in inflammatory neurological disease. Attenuation of synthesis from L-tryptophan by 6-chlorotryptophan and 4-chloro-3-hydroxyanthranilate. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8293279)
- Sulforaphane reduces the alterations induced by quinolinic acid: Modulation of glutathione levels (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262569040_Sulforaphane_reduces_the_alterations_induced_by_quinolinic_acid_Modulation_of_glutathione_levels)
- Protective effects of the antioxidant selenium on quinolinic acid-induced neurotoxicity in rats: in vitro and in vivo studies. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12871589)
- Melatonin neutralizes neurotoxicity induced by quinolinic acid in brain tissue culture. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16150107)
- Neuroprotective potential of L-theanine against excitotoxic neuronal death induced by quinolinic acid: Possible neurotransmitters and nitric oxide modulation mechanism (http://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/neuroprotective-potential-of-l-theanine-against-excitotoxic-neuronal-death-induced-by-quinolinic-acid-possible-neurotransmitters-and-nitric-oxide-modulation-mechanism/)
- Green Tea Polyphenols Decrease Enzyme Activity of Nitric Oxide Synthase, https://www.fasebj.org/doi/abs/10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.790.14
- Neuroprotective Activity of Curcumin in Combination with Piperine against Quinolinic Acid Induced Neurodegeneration in Rats (https://www.karger.com/Article/PDF/443896)
Understand and improve your laboratory results with our health dashboard.
Upload your lab reports and get your interpretation today.
Our technology helps to understand, combine, track, organize, and act on your medical lab test results.
High levels might be associated with mental illness, ALS, alzheimer's and depression. Studies have demonstrated that quinolinic acid may be involved in many psychiatric disorders, neurodegenerative processes in the brain, as well as other disorders such as mental illness, ALS, alzheimer's and depression.
Increased levels of quinolinic acid have also been detected in Lyme patients with central nervous system inflammation.
The following substances have been proven to lower levels of quinolinic acid:
- Sulforaphane [R]
- Selenium [R]
- Melatonin [R]
- Theanine [R]
- Green Tea Polyphenols [R]
- Curcumin + Piperine [R]
Interpret Your Lab Results
Upload your lab report, and we'll interpret and provide you with recommendations today.
Get Started
Monthly plan
Annual plan
Own it for life
Our exclusive data entry service is a convenient way to get your results into your private dashboard. Simply attach an image or a file of your lab test results, and one of our qualified data entry team members will add the results for you. We support all sorts of files, whether PDFs, JPGs, or Excel. This service is excellent whether you have a lot of reports to upload or are too busy to do the data entry yourself.
We strive to make the data entry process easy for you. Whether by offering dozens of templates to choose from that pre-populate the most popular laboratory panels or by giving you instant feedback on the entered values. Our data entry forms are an easy, fast, and convenient way to enter the reports yourself. There is no limit on how many lab reports you can upload.
$15 /month
billed every month
Most popular
Data entry included
$79 /year
$6.60/month billed annually
Data entry included
$250 /once
own it for life
Are You a Health Professional?
Get started with our professional plan
Welcome to Healthmatters Pro.
Save time on interpreting lab results with the largest database of biomarkers online. In-depth research on any test at your fingertips, all stored and tracked in one place. Learn more
Pro Monthly Plus
for health professionals
$75 per month
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.
2-Hydroxyphenylacetic Acid, 3-Hydroxyisovaleric Acid, 3-Hydroxyphenylacetic Acid, 3-Hydroxypropionic Acid, 3-Methyl-4-OH-phenylglycol, 4-Hydroxyphenylacetic Acid, 5-OH-indoleacetic Acid, a-Hydroxyisobutyric Acid (from MTBE), a-Keto-b-Methylvaleric Acid, a-Ketoadipic Acid, a-Ketoglutaric Acid (AKG), a-Ketoisocaproic Acid, a-Ketoisovaleric Acid, a-Ketophenylacetic Acid (from Styrene), Adipic Acid, Arabinose, B-OH-B-Methylglutaric Acid (HMG), Benzoic Acid, Beta-OH-Butyric Acid (BHBA), Cis-Aconitic Acid, Citramalic Acid, Citric Acid, Dihydroxyphenylpropionic Acid (DHPPA), Formiminoglutamic Acid (FIGlu), Glutaric Acid, Hippuric Acid, Homogentisic Acid, Homovanillic Acid, Indoleacetic Acid (IAA), Isocitric Acid, Isovalerylglycine, Kynurenic / Quinolinic Ratio, Kynurenic Acid, Lactic Acid, Malic Acid, Methylmalonic Acid, Orotic Acid, Phenylacetic Acid (PAA), Pyroglutamic Acid, Pyruvic Acid, Quinolinic Acid, Suberic Acid, Succinic Acid, Tartaric Acid, Vanilmandelic Acid, Xanthurenic Acid
