L-Arginine
L-arginine is an amino acid that has numerous functions in the body. It helps the body get rid of ammonia (a waste product), is used to make compounds in the body such creatine, L-glutamate, and L-proline, and can be converted to glucose and glycogen if needed.
L-arginine is conditionally non-essential, which means that the body normally has enough. It's produced in the kidney and to a lesser extent, in the liver. Yet, in certain individuals tyhe body does not produce sufficient arginine, therefore a nutritional supplementation might be required.
Arginine is found in a wide variety of foods, including dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, seafood, wheat flour, nuts, seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower), peas, soybeans
In the body, L-arginine is used to make nitric oxide, which reduces blood vessel stiffness, increases blood flow, and improves blood vessel function.
Preliminary studies have found that L-arginine may help with conditions that improve when blood vessels are relaxed (called vasodilation), such as atherosclerosis, erectile dysfunction, and intermittent claudication.
L-arginine is also involved in protein formation. In larger amounts, L-arginine stimulates the release of hormones growth hormone and prolactin.
L-arginine has been used for erectile dysfunction. L-arginine is thought to enhance the action of nitric oxide, which relaxes muscles surrounding blood vessels supplying the penis. As a result, blood vessels in the penis dilate, increasing blood flow, which helps maintain an erection.
L-arginine is also thought to be helpful for:
- wound healing
- decreasing high blood pressure
- migraines
- sexual dysfunction in women
- intermittent claudication
- interstitial cystitis
- increasing blood circulation throughout the body, including sex organs
- imporving reproductive ability
- imorving immune function
- stimulating release of growth ormone
Contraindications:
- Not to be take during pregnancy or breast feeding
- It shouldn't be used after a heart attack
- It may lower blood pressure
- It may cause indigestion, nausea, and headache
- Higher doses of arginine can increase stomach acid, so it may worsen heartburn, ulcers, or digestive upset
- People with genital herpes should not take L-arginine because it may aggravate their symptoms.
Drug Interactions:
- L-arginine may counteract the benefits of lysine to treat herpes
- NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatories) or other drugs that are hard on the stomach should not be combined with L-arginine.
- Drugs that alter potassium levels in the body, such as ACE inhibitors and potassium sparing diuretics.
Sources:
Schulman SP et al. "L-arginine therapy in acute myocardial infarction: the Vascular Interaction With Age in Myocardial Infarction (VINTAGE MI) randomized clinical trial". JAMA. 295.1 (2006):58-64.
Arginine Therapy in Acute Myocardial Infarction JAMA. 2006 Jan; Vol.295 #1: 58-64;
ebret, T., Hervéa, J. M., Gornyb, P., Worcelc, M. and Botto, H. 2002. Efficacy and Safety of a Novel Combination of L-Arginine Glutamate and Yohimbine Hydrochloride: A New Oral Therapy for Erectile Dysfunction. European Urology 41(6): 608-613.
Alba-Roth J, Müller O, Schopohl J, von Werder K (1988). "Arginine stimulates growth hormone secretion by suppressing endogenous somatostatin secretion". J Clin Endocrinol Metab 67 (6): 1186–9. doi:10.1126/science.2237411. (inactive 2008-06-25).
Stanislavov, R. and Nikolova. 2003. Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction with Pycnogenol and L-arginine. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 29(3): 207 – 213.
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