Arginine is found in all protein foods and is very abundant in seeds and nuts. It is considered a semi-essential amino acid during early development, infection/inflammation, or renal and/or intestinal impairment. It has many functions in the body including:
- ammonia disposal in the urea cycle
- immune function
- stimulation of insulin release
- muscle metabolism (creatine/creatinine precursor)
- nitric oxide (NO) formation
- glutamic acid and proline formation
- glucose/glycogen conversion
- stimulation of the release of growth hormone, vasopressin, and prolactin
- wound healing
Because arginine is a precursor for nitric oxide synthesis, it is often used therapeutically in cardiovascular disease for its vasodilatory effects.
A low protein diet, gastrointestinal dysfunction, and increased amino acid utilization in acute phases of critical illness can all contribute to deficient arginine. However, some chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, are characterized by an increase in the enzyme arginase, which can subsequently result in plasma arginine deficiency. Clinically, arginine deficiency has been shown to contribute to increased susceptibility to infection, pulmonary hypertension, atherosclerosis, and impaired anti-tumor response.
Understand and improve your laboratory results with our health dashboard.
Upload your lab reports and get interpretation today.
Our technology helps to understand, combine, track, organize, and act on your medical lab test results.
A diet high in arginine, or exogenous supplementation with arginine or citrulline can elevate arginine levels.
Levels might also be elevated in manganese (Mn) insufficiency since Mn is a necessary cofactor in the conversion of arginine to ornithine (and urea) in the urea cycle.
Lastly, there is some literature to suggest that vitamin B6 supplementation alters plasma amino acids resulting in increased arginine.
Interpret Your Lab Results
Upload your lab report and we’ll interpret and provide you with recomendations today.
Get Started
Get Started With Our Personal Plan
Advanced Plan
Unlimited Plan
Are You a Health Professional?
Get started with our professional plan
Welcome to Healthmatters Pro.
Save time on interpreting lab results with the largest database of biomarkers online. In-depth research on any test at your fingertips, all stored and tracked in one place. Learn more
Pro Plan
for health professionals
$45 per month
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.
1-Methylhistidine, 3-Methylhistidine, a-Amino-N-butyric Acid, a-Aminoadipic Acid, Alanine, Arginine, Asparagine, Aspartic Acid, b-Alanine, b-Aminoisobutyric Acid, Citrulline, Cyst(e)ine, Cystathionine, Ethanolamine, g-Aminobutyric Acid, Glutamic Acid, Glutamine, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Ornithine, Phenylalanine, Phosphoethanolamine, Phosphoserine, Proline, Sarcosine, Serine, Taurine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Tyrosine, Urea, Valine
