Nutritional and metabolic functions of arginine

Abstract

Because an endogenous biosynthesis occurs, but not at a sufficient rate for maximal growth in the young animal, arginine is classified as semiessential amino acid. Diets used for intensive animal growth, with high ingested levels, supply enough arginine. Nevertheless, in food retriction situations, supplemental arginine can increase nitrogen retained levels. Besides, the nutritional state improvement allowed by supplemental arginine during post-injury periode, shows an requirement increase during this stress situation and a particular implication of this molecule for tissular synthesis process. The compounds as ornithine, proline, glutamate, polyamines and nitric oxide arised from the different metbolic pathways of arginine, which are capable to produce a plethora of biological effects, can partly explain the multiple potentialities, other than nutritional of arginine.