L-Arginine effectiveness in treatment of ED

Question
Hi,
I've been taking a supplement of L-Arginine for ED. I found that 1000 mg before activity helps out, even after the first dose, despite having been told that it takes a few weeks to build up in your system. Do you think that the results will improve with a regular regimen of a gram several times a day? Also, I know you should take it on an empty stomach, will a splash of soy creamer in my coffee interfere with absorption?
Thank you
Aaron

Answer
hi Aaron,

I can tell you about research I'm aware of so you'll be able to make informed decisions. As to the empty stomach question, depends on the splash's size,so go ahead experiment with it :)

L-arginine is the raw material for nitric oxide (NO) which helps in production of a variety of body's tissues. Orally taken, L-arginine is metabolized in the gut wall and liver so in the treatment of ED, large doses are required for an effect: 1.5 g daily showed no effect (1), but with 5 g per day, improvement was seen in the 31% of men (2, 3).

The above mentioned studies also showed that oral L-citrulline (4) is more effective in making L-arginine available to the cell than oral L-arginine, and that 5 g of L-arginine or 2 to 3 g of L-citrulline may benefit ED (5).

Tanya Zilberter

REFERENCES

1 T. Klotz, M.J. Mathers, M. Braun, W. Bloch and U. Engelmann, Effectiveness of oral L-arginine in first-line treatment of erectile dysfunction in a controlled crossover study, Urol Int 63 (1999), pp. 220?23.

2 J. Chen, Y. Wollman, T. Chernichovsky, A. Iaina, M. Sofer and H. Matzkin, Effect of oral administration of high-dose nitric oxide donor L-arginine in men with organic erectile dysfunction: results of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, BJU Int 83 (1999), pp. 269?73.

3 A.W. Zorgniotti and E.F. Lizza, Effect of large doses of the nitric oxide precursor, l-arginine, on erectile dysfunction, Int J Impot Res 6 (1994), pp. 33?5.

4 M. Hecker, W.C. Sessa, J. Harris, E.E. Anggard and J.R. Vane, The metabolism of L-arginine and its significance for the biosynthesis of endothelium-derived relaxing factor: cultured endothelial cells recycle L-citrulline to L-arginine, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 87 (1990), pp. 8612?616.

5 T. Hayashi, P.A. Juliet, H. Matsui-Hirai, A. Miyazaki, A. Fukatsu and J. Funami et al., l-Citrulline and l-arginine supplementation retards the progression of high-cholesterol-diet-induced atherosclerosis in rabbits, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102 (2005), pp. 13681?3686.  

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