γ-aminobutyric acid (γ-amino butyric acid, GABA) is a new food supplement in China. According to current studies, foodborne GABA is believed to be able to promote health and resist various chronic diseases. In this paper, the metabolism, effects and mechanisms of food-borne and endogenous GABA in mammalian organism, and safety and content of GABA in foods were reviewed. The design and main results of human trials of exogenous GABA supplementation were summarized. Existing randomized controlled trials (RCT) show that GABA intake plays a role in neuroregulation, such as anti-anxiety and improvement of sleep disorders, and lowering blood pressure and regulating blood sugar in both patients and healthy subjects. However, the dose ranges of GABA from different sources are different, and the functional dose range of GABA from natural food supplement is lower than that of biosynthetic GABA. Due to certain design defects of the previous RCTs, quality RCT studies are needed in the future to further clarify the clinical effect of exogenous GABA.

γ-aminobutyric acid  /  clinical randomized controlled trials  /  anti-anxiety  /  sleep disorders  /  lowering blood pressure  /  trail design