Does L-Arginine Supplementation Make A Difference?
Posted: Thursday, February 07, 2008 Researchers have found that diabetes creates too much competition for an amino acid called L-arginine that helps blood vessels to relax. L-arginine, is broken down by the enzyme arginase to urea, which helps the body to get rid of toxins resulting from the proteins we eat. The study was led by Dr. Maritza Romero, postdoctoral fellow at the Medical College of Georgia, who works in the lab of Dr. R. William Caldwell, chair of the MCG Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Romero said that diabetics have a lot of arginase activity, which means they use a lot more L-arginine. He added that it also means that too little L-arginine is available to help nitric oxide synthase make nitric oxide, the powerful vasodilator that helps blood vessels relax. It was also found that the amino acid, L-citrulline, as well as statins, compounds known to lower cholesterol, prevent increase of arginase activity, restoring normal dilation abilities in animal models of t
