An article written on the bodybuilding supplement arginine to find out if it does what it claims. This article will be very helpful to bodybuilders who are looking to supplement with arginine as it will show them what exactly it can do for them.
Arginine is another vastly popular amino acid supplement that is found in many pre-workout drinks. Arginine is the precursor to nitric oxide in the body, so supplement companies claim that increased arginine consumption leads to higher nitric oxide levels, this causes more vasodilatation increasing nutrient deliver, and thus increasing muscle growth and strength. Furthermore, many growth hormone supplements marketed today containing arginine proclaim that it can greatly enhance growth hormone secretion during sleep. I will review the current research to test both of these theories that supplement companies proclaim.
Arginine and growth hormone secretion
One study done on the uses of l-arginine, determining it’s usefulness with growth hormone secretion. They had participants intake arginine at 250mg/kg/day and they found that growth hormone was about 60% higher a week after arginine aspartate intake. However there are a few problems with this study, first their population size is only five and that is very small. Second one person accounted for most of the growth hormone increase in fact the mean increase drops to 34.5% without his data. Finally when citing this research supplement companies do not point out that prolactin increased on an average of 75% after supplementing with arginine aspartate (1). Prolactin is something we do not want to raise, as it can lower testosterone, and also it is the hormone responsible for lactation. Furthermore, another study found that using arginine during exercise did not promote post exercise growth hormone levels; they actually found the reverse was true and that it stalled growth hormone secretion (2).
Arginine->Vasodilatation->Nutrient Delivery->Muscle Growth
Next up is the theory that using arginine can cause vasodilatation, increased nutrient delivery, and promote muscle growth. One study found that post exercise arginine+carbohydrate intake didn’t increase carbohydrate replenishment when compared to a carbohydrate drink (3). This study proves that the increased nutrient delivery claim is untrue. As for the other claims, studies have shown that arginine intake did increase nitric oxide production; however these studies done used an intravenous injection of arginine (4, 5, 6). In conclusion, research shows that supplementing with arginine has little uses, other than emptying your wallet. I would steer clear of anyone claiming that arginine supplements boost nitric oxide or growth hormone.
References
1. Besset, A., A. Bonardet, B. Descomps, et al. "Increase in sleep related GH and Prl secretion after chronic arginine aspartate administration in man." European Journal of Endocrinology 99 (1982): 18-23. European Journal of Endocrinology. .
2. Hawkins, S. A., L. Kohlmeier,T. J. Marcell, et al. "Oral arginine does not stimulate basal or augment exercise-induced GH secretion in either young or old adults." Journals of Gerontology A 54 (1999): M395-399. The Journals of Gerontology. .
3. Robinson, T. M., D. A. Sewell, and P. L. Greenhaff. "L-arginine ingestion after rest and exercise: effects on glucose disposal." Japanese Heart Journal 35 (2003): 1309-315. PubMed. .
4. Esumi, H., K. Hishikawa, R. Kato, et al. "Effect of systemic L-arginine administration on hemodynamics and nitric oxide release in man." Japanese Heart Journal 33 (1992): 41-48. PubMed. .
5. Acampora, R., L. Coppola, D. Cozzolino, et al. "The vascular effects of L-Arginine in humans. The role of endogenous insulin." The Journal of Clinical Investigation 99 (1997): 433-38. PubMed Central. .
5. Bode-Boger, S. M., R. H. Boger, J. C. Frolich, et al. "L-arginine-induced vasodilation in healthy humans: pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationship." British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 46 (1998): 489-97.PubMed.
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