Bicarbonate is an electrolyte that helps regulate blood pH. Low levels of bicarbonate (metabolic acidosis) may indicate kidney disease, lung disease, or other health problems.
Alanine is a gluconeogenic amino acid that can be converted to pyruvate and enter the citric acid cycle, potentially increasing bicarbonate generation. Alanine levels tend to increase in metabolic acidosis as the body tries to raise bicarbonate.
References
Wilkes D, Gledhill N, Smyth R. Effect of sodium bicarbonate and beta-alanine supplementation on swimming performance. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism (2013). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4176133/
Glutamic acid is an acidic amino acid that can be deaminated to alpha-ketoglutarate, an intermediate in the citric acid cycle. This process generates bicarbonate to balance the acid load of glutamic acid.
Glutamine is metabolized to glutamate and then alpha-ketoglutarate, which can enter the citric acid cycle and increase bicarbonate production. Glutamine supplementation has been shown to increase bicarbonate levels in some studies.
References
Sartorius OW, Roemmelt JC, …, WITH NOTES ON THE ENZYMATIC SYNTHESIS OF LABELED CLUTAMIC ACID AND GLUTAMINES. Regulation of glutamine metabolism in vitro by bicarbonate ion and pH. J Clin Invest (1965). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC322323/Mancuso A, Vazquez A, …, DeBerardinis RJ. Glutamine oxidation maintains the TCA cycle and cell survival in cancer cells. NCBI (2014). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4268166/
Lactic acid production consumes bicarbonate to maintain acid-base balance. Excess lactic acid production, as occurs in lactic acidosis, can deplete bicarbonate levels leading to metabolic acidosis.