Does L-Arginine work?

I suffer from constipation and when I mixed this with pea the constipation was very bad I am now consuming natural yoghurt everyday day morning and evening. Have googled the side effects but constipation is not mentioned, however this is what happened to me. I also take Tadalafil 5mg every other day I admit combined with L-Arginine the results are slightly more improved but its never been a “oh my god I need to take this” kind of supplement!!!!! For me its effects are subtle there but not in your face. I am trying to cycle this may help with the side effects.

Alin, you’re right. L-arginin is an amino acid and our body produces some l-arginin. And so how it is, every body works different. Some are reacting after a few minutes taking l-arginin, and some need more time for that effect. And also l-arginin is not just for a great big and thick errection, it’s just to help our bloodvessels to dilate/ expend. Indeed everywhere in our body. That’s the reason why it works diffent, I think. And maybe it could be, that a positiv setting/ opinion this affects.

I started taking a combination of L-Arginine and Citrulline Malate quite some time ago and I’ve noticed my erections are more frequent/spontaneous and firmer now than they were in the first 2-3 weeks of supplementing.

Very interesting link, Alin.

I don’t want to argue forever.

Here is a link that suggests an interesting idea: the dose effect. The study describe the need for 10 days to get results in animals under test.("Significant effects were seen after 10 weeks of oral L-arginine treatment in animals.") But there may be a dose effect. Rapid results could be obtained for large dosages, while moderate doses give results only after a while.

That said, I have so many difficulties with English that it is possible that I did not well understand. I have some links very interesting but they are in French. I would not be surprised that the difficulty could be greater for you ;) .

http://circ.aha journals.org/cg … 2/2135#R16yield

“ten weeks”, not “ten days” excuse me.

Hey Graal, you said that in the link is a study which “describe the need for 10 days to get results in animals under test”.

I get from that link this :

“Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Supplemental Oral L-Arginine in Patients With Heart Failure “

Even if they’re patients, it’s rude to call them animals. :D

If it’s any contribution I take 6g’s a day and it took me little over a week to start getting the effects.

You read the title.

Read the chapter “Methods”.

Just a “copy and paste” :

“Significant effects were seen after 10 weeks of oral L-arginine treatment in animals”.

Graal, that was a joke. :)

Ok, regarding the actual study, when you want to make a conclusion on something, one should consider the humans study more than animals/rat studies because in many cases, regarding a similar experiment there will be different results; other thing is regarding healthy subjects vs diseased subjects, because in the latter ones there is a big chance to work something that in healthy folks will not work or will work with a negligible result and the last but not the least in vitro vs in vivo, this case favoring the “in vivo” setting because there are many others factors which in vitro can’t put together.

But, anyway I’ll take a better look at what you posted. :)

p.s: I know a little french :D

***
J Nutr. 2010 Dec 29. [Epub ahead of print]
Bolus Arginine Supplementation Affects neither Muscle Blood Flow nor Muscle Protein Synthesis in Young Men at Rest or After Resistance Exercise.

Tang JE, Lysecki PJ, Manolakos JJ, Macdonald MJ, Tarnopolsky MA, Phillips SM.

Department of Kinesiology, Exercise Metabolism Research Group, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada.
Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the ergogenic potential of arginine on NO synthesis, muscle blood flow, and skeletal muscle protein synthesis (MPS). Eight healthy young men (22.1 ± 2.6 y, 1.79 ± 0.06 m, 76.6 ± 6.2 kg; mean ± SD) participated in 2 trials where they performed a bout of unilateral leg resistance exercise and ingested a drink containing either 10 g essential amino acids with 10 g l-arginine (ARG) or an isonitrogenous control (CON). Femoral artery blood flow of both the nonexercised and exercised leg was measured continuously using pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasound, while rates of mixed and myofibrillar MPS were determined using a primed continuous infusion of l-[ring-(13)C(6)] or l-[ring-(2)H(5)]phenylalanine. The plasma arginine concentration increased 300% during the ARG trial but not during the CON trial (P < 0.001). Plasma nitrate, nitrite, and endothelin-1, all markers of NO synthesis, did not change during either the ARG or CON trial. Plasma growth hormone increased to a greater degree after exercise in the ARG trial than CON trial (P < 0.05). Femoral artery blood flow increased 270% above basal in the exercised leg (P < 0.001) but not in the nonexercised leg, with no differences between the ARG and CON trials. Mixed and myofibrillar MPS were both greater in the exercised leg compared with the nonexercised leg (P < 0.001), but did not differ between the ARG and CON treatments. We conclude that an oral bolus (10 g) of arginine does not increase NO synthesis or muscle blood flow. Furthermore, arginine does not enhance mixed or myofibrillar MPS either at rest or after resistance exercise beyond that achieved by feeding alone.

In this study you see that plasma arginine increased in the ARG group but this didn’t increase nitric oxide synthesis, that’s why I said in an ealier post that arginine is not the rate limiting factor for NO synthesis because the pool of arginine is great enough and the percentage that is used for making nitric oxide is not so much.

Also, note that this study included young healthy men.

The link you submitted was about a study of 14 cats, no ? :)

Excuse me, I did not realize it was a joke. Do not contradict me : humor is the most difficult thing to translate.

I am neither young nor in perfect health. That could be the explanation…

It’s very strange seeing some people take several grams a day of L-Arginine, where I was getting sore throat and such symptoms after 1 gram per day.

Yes. It works. Nuff said.

I understand, but neither those folks in the study were in perfect health(who is?). Arginine would work very good in those with established cardiovascular problems or similar ones, this being the general conclusion I gathered from reading studies on arginine’s health benefits. :) But if your case is special, then again, I understand.