La l-citrulline, un nouveau candidat dans la prise en charge du sujet âgé dénutri ?

With the increasing population of frail elderly, malnutrition in the elderly has become a major public health concern because it directly impacts the quality of life of subjects and is a factor of morbidity and mortality. However, one of the characteristics of the elderly is to display a specific resistance to refeeding. The causes are multiple, involving in particular an increase in splanchnic utilization of amino acids (AA), a phenomenon called splanchnic sequestration of AA. Citrulline, an amino acid yet poorly studied for its nutritional properties, totally escapes the splanchnic sequestration and has the property to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. This activation of muscle protein synthesis is associated with protein accretion, increased muscle strength and motricity. Citrulline seems a particularly promising candidate for fight against malnutrition in the elderly.