Arginine is a conditionally essential amino acid that is critical for your cardiovascular health and detoxification functions. The amino acid, arginine, is used to make the powerful blood vessel regulator, nitric oxide. Nitric oxide acts to lower blood pressure.
Too little arginine can lead to high blood pressure.
Too much arginine can lead to increased aging from oxidative damage. Arginine is measured in blood and markers of arginine insufficiency are measured in urine.
High citrate, isocitrate, cis-Aconitate, or orotate can indicate arginine insufficiency. The essential amino acid lysine needs to be present in amounts balanced with arginine to ensure healthy immune system function.
Arginine is vital for the body’s processing of nitrogen and is a precursor to nitric oxide via the urea cycle. Nitric oxide is critical for relaxation of the endothelium, a layer of cells that lines the inside of blood vessels. Arginine deficiencies, therefore, have wide-ranging effects on the cardiovascular system. Low arginine may indicate too much lysine or histidine supplementation competing for absorption, or consumption of too many lysine-containing foods, including meat and dairy products. Low arginine is also associated with elevated ammonia.
Subnormal arginine often is consistent with muscle weakness, fatigue and is occasionally coincident with chronic infections. Arginine is found in all protein foods and is very abundant in seeds and nuts.
High levels are often associated with a functional block in the urea cycle. Manganese activates an arginase enzyme, so supplementing with manganese may help.
$79 per year
$6.60 per month billed annually
Use promocode
$79 per year
$250 single payment
$45 per month
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 MoreAt 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 (Urine), 3-Methylhistidine (Urine), a-Amino-N-butyric Acid (Urine), a-Aminoadipic (Urine), Alanine (Urine), Anserine (dipeptide), Arginine (Urine), Asparagine (Urine), Aspartic Acid (Urine), b-Alanine (Urine), b-Aminoisobutyric Acid (Urine), Carnosine (dipeptide), Citrulline (Urine), Cystathionine (Urine), Cysteine (FMV urine), Cystine (FMV Urine), Ethanolamine (Urine), g-Aminobutyric Acid (Urine), Glutamic Acid (Urine), Glutamine (Urine), Glycine (Urine), Histidine (Urine), Isoleucine (Urine), Leucine (Urine), Lysine (Urine), Methionine (Urine), Ornithine (Urine), Phenylalanine (Urine), Phosphoethanolamine (Urine), Phosphoserine (Urine), Proline (Urine), Sarcosine (Urine), Serine (Urine), Taurine (Urine), Threonine (Urine), Tryptophan (Urine), Tyrosine (Urine), Urea (Urine), Valine (Urine)