Threonine (Plasma)

Optimal Result: 51.4 - 184.9 nmol/ML.

Threonine is a large neutral amino acid and a precursor for the amino acid glycine. Foods that contain relatively high amounts of threonine include cheeses (especially Swiss), meat, fish, poultry, seeds, walnuts, cashews, almonds and peanuts. Threonine gets converted to glycine using a two-step biochemical pathway involving the enzymes threonine dehydrogenase and the vitamin B6-dependent glycine C-acetyltransferase.

Threonine has been studied clinically as a supplement to increase cerebrospinal fluid levels of glycine in patients with spasticity related to neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Threonine may also play a role in tissue healing and liver health. It is used to synthesize body proteins and is found in high concentrations relative to other amino acids in mucus glycoproteins. Many amino acids, including threonine can be converted into citric acid cycle intermediates for mitochondrial ATP production or for gluconeogenesis, depending on the body’s needs.

References:

- Adrych K, Smoczynski M, Stojek M, et al. Decreased serum essential and aromatic amino acids in patients with chronic pancreatitis. World J Gastroenterol. 2010;16(35):4422-4427.62

- Vannucchi H, Moreno FS, Amarante AR, de Oliveira JE, Marchini JS. Plasma amino acid patterns in alcoholic pellagra patients. Alcohol Alcoholism. 1991;26(4):431-436.

- Edgar AJ. The human L-threonine 3-dehydrogenase gene is an expressed pseudogene. BMC Genet. 2002;3:18.

- Edgar AJ, Polak JM. Molecular cloning of the human and murine 2-amino-3-ketobutyrate coenzyme A ligase cDNAs. Eur J Biochem. 2000;267(6):1805-1812.

- Lee A, Patterson V. A double-blind study of L-threonine in patients with spinal spasticity. Acta Neurol Scand. 1993;88(5):334-338.

- Hauser SL, Doolittle TH, Lopez-Bresnahan M, et al. An antispasticity effect of threonine in multiple sclerosis. Arch Neurol. 1992;49(9):923-926.

- Roufs JB. L-threonine as a symptomatic treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Med Hypoth. 1991;34(1):20-23.

- Mansoor O, Breuille D, Bechereau F, et al. Effect of an enteral diet supplemented with a specific blend of amino acid on plasma and muscle protein synthesis in ICU patients. Clin Nutr. 2007;26(1):30-40.

- Yoshida A, Ashida K, Harper AE. Prevention of fatty liver due to threonine deficiency by moderate caloric restriction. Nature. 1961;189:917-918.

- Ross-Inta CM, Zhang YF, Almendares A, Giulivi C. Threoninedeficient diets induced changes in hepatic bioenergetics. Am J Physiol Gastroint Liver Phys. 2009;296(5):G1130-1139.

- Owen OE, Kalhan SC, Hanson RW. The key role of anaplerosis and cataplerosis for citric acid cycle function. J Biol Chem. 2002;277(34):30409-30412.

- Medicine Io. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2005.

- Park YK, Linkswiler H. Effect of vitamin B6 depletion in adult man on the plasma concentration and the urinary excretion of free amino acids. JNutr. 1971;101(2):185-191.

What does it mean if your Threonine (Plasma) result is too low?

Low levels of essential amino acids may indicate a poor-quality diet, or maldigestion due to deficient digestive peptidase activity or pancreatic dysfunction. Vitamin B3 deficiency has been associated with lower levels of threonine, and other amino acids.

What does it mean if your Threonine (Plasma) result is too high?

- Researchers found elevated plasma threonine was associated with a reduced risk of an atherogenic lipid profile (n=475).

- Urine threonine was higher in PCOS patients.

- High dietary intake of threonine-rich foods result in elevated levels, as well as lack of vitamin cofactors (Vit B6) needed to utilize and metabolize threonine.

- Evaluate glycine, benzoic acid, and hippuric acid to establish glycine need, as high glycine need could drain threonine.

 

10 000+ happy customers
100% satisfaction
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ customer support

Understand blood, stool, and urine medical results from all your laboratories.

Upload Your Personal Results

Upload Personal Results

For professional account plans go here

for professional account plans go here

Monthly plan

Annual plan

Own it for life

  • Subscription
  • Data entry service included

    Data entry service

    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.

  • Instant interpretation
  • Use free data entry form

    Free data entry form

    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.

  • 4000+ biomarkers explained
  • Nutrition recommendations
  • Cancel anytime

Complete

$15 /month

billed every month

  • monthly
  • $15 per report
  • ✓ Instant interpretations
  • ✓ 4000+ biomarkers explained
  • ✓ Nutrition recommendations
  • ✓ Free data entry form
  • ✓ Unlimited data
  • ✓ $15 data entry service
  • ✓ Cancel anytime

Most popular

Data entry included

Advanced

$79 /year

$6.60/month billed annually

  • yearly
  • 5 reports free
  • ✓ Instant interpretations
  • ✓ 4000+ biomarkers explained
  • ✓ Nutrition recommendations
  • ✓ We enter 5 reports for you
  • ✓ Yearly subscription
  • ✓ Cancel anytime

Data entry included

Unlimited

$250 /once

own it for life

  • pay once
  • 10 reports free
  • ✓ Instant interpretations
  • ✓ 4000+ biomarkers explained
  • ✓ Nutrition recommendations
  • ✓ We enter 10 reports for you
  • ✓ No subscription
  • ✓ Dedicated support
  • ✓ Unlimited access

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

  • ✓ Track multiple clients results
  • ✓ No setup fees
  • ✓ No hidden costs
  • ✓ Instant interpretations
  • ✓ 4000+ biomarkers explained
  • ✓ Includes data entry service
  • ✓ Personal training and support
  • ✓ Cancel anytime

$75 per month

Use promo code to save 10% off any plan.


We implement proven measures to keep your data safe.

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.