Alpha-Ketoglutarate (AKG)

Overview

Alpha-ketoglutarate is a chemical found in the body. People use it to make medicine.

Alpha-ketoglutarate is used for kidney disease, intestinal and stomach disorders, and many other conditions but there is no good scientific evidence to support most of these uses. Healthcare providers sometimes give alpha-ketoglutarate intravenously (by IV) for preventing injury to the heart caused by blood flow problems during heart surgery and for preventing muscle breakdown after surgery or trauma.

Classification

Is a Form of:

Chemical found in the body

Primary Functions:

For kidney disease, intestinal and stomach disorders

Also Known As:

Acide a-cétoglutarique, Acide Alpha-Cétoglutarique, Alfa-Cetoglutarato, Alpha-Cétoglutarate, Alpha-Cétoglutarate d'Arginine

How Does It Work?

Alpha-ketoglutarate works in many pathways in the body, to help make muscle, and to help heal wounds.

Uses

  • Long-term kidney disease (chronic kidney disease or CKD). Taking calcium alpha-ketoglutarate seems to improve results of certain lab tests used to monitor the effectiveness of hemodialysis in patients receiving this treatment.
  • Tissue damage caused when there is limited blood flow and then blood flow is restored (ischemia-reperfusion injury). Administering alpha-ketoglutarate intravenously (by IV) seems to reduce blood supply problems during heart surgery.

Recommended Dosing

The following doses have been studied in scientific research:

BY MOUTH:

  • For long-term kidney disease (chronic kidney disease or CKD): 1.187 grams of alpha-ketoglutarate plus 0.813 grams of calcium carbonate three times weekly has been used. Also, about 4.5 grams of calcium alpha-ketoglutarate has been used daily for 3 years.

BY IV:

  • Tissue damage caused when there is limited blood flow and then blood flow is restored (ischemia-reperfusion injury): Healthcare providers give alpha-ketoglutarate by IV.

Alpha-Ketoglutarate (AKG) Supplements Frequently Asked Questions

What is Alpha ketoglutarate used for?

Alpha-ketoglutarate is used for kidney disease; intestinal and stomach disorders, including bacterial infections; liver problems; cataracts; and recurring yeast infections. It is also used for improving the way kidney patients receiving hemodialysis treatments process protein.

Where does Alpha ketoglutarate come from?

α-Ketoglutarate can be produced by: Oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate by isocitrate dehydrogenase. Oxidative deamination of glutamate by glutamate dehydrogenase. From galacturonic acid by the organism Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

What is Alpha Ketoanalogue tablets?

Alpha Ketoanalogue is most commonly used as nutrition therapy or dietary supplements in the patients of chronic kidney failure. This medicine prevents the unnecessary increase in urea levels in the blood due to the intake of non-essential amino acids in patients of kidney failure.

What amino acid can be converted to alpha ketoglutarate?

Glutamate, of course, can be converted by a transamination reaction to alpha-ketoglutarate, which can be oxidized in the citric acid cycle.

Is Alpha ketoglutarate an amino acid?

The amino groups of amino acids are attached to it (by transamination) and carried to the liver where the urea cycle takes place. α-Ketoglutarate is transaminated, along with glutamine, to form the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate.

Is Alpha ketoglutarate a ketone body?

One important alpha-keto acid is oxaloacetic acid, a component of the Krebs cycle. Another is alpha-ketoglutarate, a 5-carbon ketoacid derived from glutamic acid. Beta-keto acids, Beta-ketoacids, or 3-oxoacids, such as acetoacetic acid, have the ketone group at the second carbon from the carboxylic acid.

Where is Alpha ketoglutarate found?

Alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) is a key molecule in the Krebs cycle determining the overall rate of the citric acid cycle of the organism. It is a nitrogen scavenger and a source of glutamate and glutamine that stimulates protein synthesis and inhibits protein degradation in muscles.

What is Alpha Ketoanalogue?

Alpha Ketoanalogue is a combination of various essential amino acids. It is mostly used in the prevention and treatment of damages due to faulty or deficient protein metabolism in chronic kidney disease. Alpha Ketoanalogue should be given along with dietary protein restriction in cases of kidney failure.

Why is alpha ketoglutarate important in amino acid metabolism?

Alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) is a key molecule in the Krebs cycle determining the overall rate of the citric acid cycle of the organism. It is a nitrogen scavenger and a source of glutamate and glutamine that stimulates protein synthesis and inhibits protein degradation in muscles.

Is Alpha ketoglutarate a keto acid?

One important alpha-keto acid is oxaloacetic acid, a component of the Krebs cycle. Another is alpha-ketoglutarate, a 5-carbon ketoacid derived from glutamic acid. Beta-keto acids, Beta-ketoacids, or 3-oxoacids, such as acetoacetic acid, have the ketone group at the second carbon from the carboxylic acid.

Clinical Studies