Arginine

amino-acid · cardiovascular · digestive · Oral · IV

Arginine, an amino acid. Substrate for nitric oxide synthesis NOS → endothelial NO → vasodilation. Intermediate in the urea cycle. Precursor to… Oral half-life 1.3 h.

Substrate for Nitric oxide synthesis NOS → endothelial NO → vasodilation. Intermediate in the Urea cycle. Precursor to Creatine Monohydrate (with Glycine and Methionine), polyamines (via ornithine), and proline. Oral F limited by saturable CAT-1 transport and first-pass hepatic arginase activity.

Pharmacokinetics

• Oral — t½ 1.3 h · F 68%
• IV — t½ 59 min · F 100%

Related compounds

• Lysine — caution
• Agmatine — synergistic
• Citrulline — synergistic

Sources: PMID:9833603