What is Sarcosine?

Sarcosine is also known as N-methylglycine.

It is an intermediate and byproduct in the glycine synthesis and degradation. Sarcosine is metabolized to glycine by the enzyme sarcosine dehydrogenase, while glycine-N-methyl transferase generates sarcosine from glycine. Sarcosine is a natural amino acid found in muscles and other body tissues. Sarcosine is found naturally as an intermediate in the metabolism of choline to glycine. Sarcosine is a competitive inhibitor of the type I glycine transporter (GlyT1), an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) co-agonist, and an important intermediate in one-carbon metabolism.

Its therapeutic potential for schizophrenia further underscores its clinical importance.
It is currently also being researched as a biomarker for prostate cancer [1, 2, 3, 4].

High levels:

Metabolism requires B2. May indicate functional B2 deficiency.
Suspect increased need for folic acid if: Elevated HOMOCYSTINE, SARCOSINE, glycine, serine, 1-methylhistidine, 3-methylhistidine, methionine, cystathionine or histidine
Could also be Sarcosinemia, a rare autosomal recessive metabolic disorder. It can result from an inborn error of sarcosine metabolism, or from severe folate deficiency. It is thought to be a relatively benign condition.

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