“GOBAB”, an Inflammatropic Amino Acid and Its Clinical Implication

Abstract

GOBAB is an amino acid with anti-inflammatory activity, discovered by NAGAI and his collaborators. Its position isomer, 4-amino 3-hydroxy amino acid, has been used clinically as an anticonvulsant since 1959. The anti-inflammatory action of GOBAB is manifested in a specific fashion as never seen with conventional antiinflammatory substances. The discovery of the drug may be considered to be of such significance as to upset the traditional concept of anti-inflammation established by SELYE. In this paper, the author deals with such a concept in relation to his own viewpoint while discussing recently published clinical results with GOBAB.