Pros and cons of L-arginine supplementation in disease. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • The amino acid arginine and one of its metabolites NO have gathered broad attention in the last decade. Although arginine is regarded as a conditionally essential amino acid in disease, L-arginine supplementation in severe illness has not found its way into clinical practice. This might be due to the invalid interpretation of results from studies with immune-enhancing diets containing L-arginine amongst other pharmaconutrients. However, not much attention is given to research using L-arginine as a monotherapy and the possibility of the alternative hypothesis: that L-arginine supplementation is beneficial in disease. The present review will discuss data from studies in healthy and diseased animals and patients with monotherapy of L-arginine to come to an objective overview of positive and negative aspects of L-arginine supplementation in disease with special emphasis on sepsis, cancer, liver failure and wound healing.

published proceedings

  • Nutr Res Rev

author list (cited authors)

  • Vissers, Y., Debats, I., Luiking, Y. C., Jalan, R., van der Hulst, R., Dejong, C., & Deutz, N.

citation count

  • 10

complete list of authors

  • Vissers, Yvonne LJ||Debats, Iris BJG||Luiking, Yvette C||Jalan, Rajiv||van der Hulst, RenĂ© RWJ||Dejong, Cornelis HC||Deutz, Nicolaas EP

publication date

  • December 2004