L-Arginine

Category: amino-acid

Aliases: Arginine

Pharmacological Mechanism

Conditionally essential amino acid; substrate for nitric oxide synthase (NOS) → NO → vascular smooth muscle relaxation. Also urea-cycle intermediate (Krebs-Henseleit cycle in liver). Used as supplement for endothelial / cardiovascular support; effect size small at supplement doses.

Half-Life (t½)

PO: 1.32h

Dosing Guidelines

• PO: Typical 5000 mg (Range: 2000–12000 mg)

Target Organ Systems

• cardiovascular

Pathways It Modulates

• Nitric oxide synthesis (substrate) — NOS step

Chemical Identifiers

• PubChem CID: 6322
• Formula: C6H14N4O2
• Molecular weight: 174.2 g/mol
• InChIKey: ODKSFYDXXFIFQN-BYPYZUCNSA-N
• SMILES: C(C[C@@H](C(=O)O)N)CN=C(N)N

References

• PMID 9833603