Pharmacological activities of branched-chain amino acids: augmentation of albumin synthesis in liver and improvement of glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle.

LIVACT granules, which is a branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) preparation, was developed for the purpose of improving hypoalbuminemia in patients with uncompensated liver cirrhosis in Japan. Recent clinical studies have shown that BCAA supplementation not only improves hypoalbuminemia, but also reduces the occurrence frequency of various complications of liver cirrhosis, which considerably affect mortality. In order to comprehend the significance of BCAA supplementation in patients with liver cirrhosis and to suggest better treatments, we conducted basic non-clinical studies mainly using animal models, clarified the molecular mechanism of the curative effect on hypoalbuminemia and emphasized the importance of mTOR signal transduction. Moreover, we found a new pharmacological action of BCAA, which improves glucose metabolism in skeletal muscles.