BCAA + L-Glutamine Blend

This is the four-amino-acid version of Thovek's branched-chain blend: a 2:1:1 BCAA base carried alongside L-glutamine, for brands building post-training rather than intra-training formats. The standard cut is 30% L-leucine (CAS 61-90-5), 15% L-isoleucine (CAS 73-32-5) and 15% L-valine (CAS 72-18-4) — the classic 2:1:1 ratio, 60% of the blend — with 40% L-glutamine (CAS 56-85-9). Leucine and isoleucine share the formula C6H13NO2 at 131.17 g/mol, valine is C5H11NO2 at 117.15 g/mol and glutamine is C5H10N2O3 at 146.14 g/mol. Each component is manufactured, assayed and released against its own USP monograph before blending, so what ships is a dry physical mixture of four defined amino acids rather than a single chemically defined compound. Leucine, isoleucine and valine are essential amino acids the body cannot synthesise; glutamine is conditionally essential and is the most abundant free amino acid in human blood and skeletal muscle. The two halves of the blend behave differently in water, and that drives most of the formulation work. L-leucine is the limiting component at roughly 22 g/L at 25 °C and wets poorly, which is why plain BCAA powder rafts and clumps on the surface of a shaker; L-glutamine goes in at about 41 g/L. A lecithin-instantised grade is available for stick packs and ready-to-mix drinks, and sunflower lecithin is the default so the blend stays soy-free — soya lecithin is used only on written instruction, because it changes the allergen box on the buyer's label. On taste, USP describes leucine and valine as tasteless and isoleucine as slightly bitter, but at 5 to 10 g serving sizes a flavour system is still normally needed. The constraint worth designing around early is that L-glutamine hydrolyses in aqueous solution to ammonia and pyroglutamate: this is a dry-powder product, and a glutamine-bearing liquid needs a dipeptide or a mix-fresh format instead. All four amino acids are made by microbial fermentation of plant-derived carbohydrate on Corynebacterium glutamicum and related production strains, then crystallised and dried. That origin matters commercially, because parts of the amino acid market are supplied by hydrolysis of keratin and other animal proteins and Thovek does not use that route. The blend is vegan and vegetarian, non-animal, and free of milk, egg, soya, fish, crustacean, gluten and tree-nut inputs; kosher, halal and non-GMO documentation is available per lot. It ships plain or instantised, in the 60:40 standard or any BCAA-to-glutamine split specified, with a certificate covering each component's assay, optical rotation, loss on drying and heavy metals.