L-Arginine in diabetes: clinical and preclinical evidence
Imma Forzano, Roberta Avvisato, Fahimeh Varzideh, Stanislovas S. Jankauskas, Angelo Cioppa, Pasquale Mone, Luigi Salemme, Urna Kansakar, Tullio Tesorio, Valentina Trimarco, Gaetano Santulli
Abstract
L-Arginine (L-Arg), is a semi-essential amino acid involved in the formation of nitric oxide. The functional relevance of L-Arg in diabetes mellitus has been evaluated both in animal models and in human subjects. In the literature there are several lines of evidence indicating that L-Arg has beneficial effects in diabetes and numerous studies advocate its administration to attenuate glucose intolerance in diabetic patients. Here we present a comprehensive overview of the main studies exploring the effects of L-Arg in diabetes, including preclinical and clinical reports on this topic.