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Arginine (amino acid L-arginine) has been the focus of increasing interest since the
early 1980s when its use was first popularized as a safe and effective way to
increase the amount of growth hormone (GH) released from the pituitary gland.
Arginine
has been heavily promoted as a health supplement capable of enhancing sexual
function in men and women. Specifically, claims have been made that arginine
supplementation may resolve erectile dysfunction, producting better erections
in healthy men.
The
study "Effects of Long-Term Oral Administration of L-Arginine on the Rat
Erectile Response" performed by the Department of Surgery, Harbor-UCLA
Medical Center, Torrance, California showed that argining supplementation does
cause better erections in rats:
"Long-term
oral administration of supra-physiologic doses of L-arginine improves the
erectile response in the aging rat. We postulate that L-arginine in the
penis may be a substrate-limiting factor for NOS activity and that L-arginine
may up-regulate penile NOS activity but not its expression. The blockade
of penile erection by electric field stimulation with N-omega-nitro-L-arginine
methyl ester suggests that if ancillary corporeal vasodilator mechanisms
develop, a basal level of NO synthesis is still required for activation
and relaxation of the corporeal smooth muscle. These data support the
possible use of dietary supplements for treatment of erectile
dysfunction."
During
the study, arginine-fed control rats underwent electric field stimulation of
the cavernosal nerve to induce erection and maximal intracavernosal pressure
was measured. An increased intracavernosal pressure will manifest itself as
increased rigidity, and, if it occurs in the human male, will subjectively be
interpreted as a "better" erection. The above-cited study found that
indeed, long-term arginine supplementation did cause a higher intracavernosal
pressure- in a rat.
Nitric
oxide is needed for erections, and the enzyme nitric oxide synthase needs L-arginine
to metabolize nitric oxide. The amounts of L-arginine needed, however, may be
so small that the required amount is readily attained from food sources.
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