Association of l-arginine supplementation with markers of endothelial function in patients with cardiovascular or metabolic disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

• Autor(a) principal: Fayh, Ana Paula Trussardi
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: Rodrigues-Krause, Josianne, Krause, Mauricio, Rocha, Ilanna, Umpierre, Daniel
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFRN
• Texto Completo: https://repositorio.ufrn.br/handle/123456789/55478; http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu11010015
• topic: Obesity; type 2 diabetes; cardiovascular disease; nitric oxide; flow-mediated dilation; asymmetric dimethylarginine

L-Arginine supplementation is a potential therapy for treating cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. However, the use of distinct L-arginine sources, intervened populations, and treatment regimens may have yielded confusion about their efficacy. This research constitutes a systematic review and meta-analysis summarizing the effects of L-arginine supplementation compared to placebo in individuals with cardiovascular disease (CVD), obesity, or diabetes. Eligibility criteria included randomized clinical trials and interventions based on oral supplementation of L-arginine with a minimum duration of three days; comparison groups consisted of individuals with the same disease condition receiving an oral placebo substance. The primary outcome was flow-mediated dilation, and secondary outcomes were nitrite/nitrate (NOx) rate and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). Statistical heterogeneity among studies included in the meta-analyses was assessed using the inconsistency index (I2). Fifty-four full-text articles from 3761 retrieved references were assessed for eligibility. After exclusions, 13 studies were included for data extraction. There was no difference in blood flow after post-ischemic hyperemia between the supplementation of L-arginine and placebo groups before and after the intervention period (standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.30; 95% confidence intervals (CIs) = −0.85 to 1.46; I2 = 96%). Sensitivity analysis showed decreased heterogeneity when the studies that most favor arginine and placebo were removed, and positive results in favor of arginine supplementation were found (SMD = 0.59; 95% CIs = 0.10 to 1.08; I2 = 75%). No difference was found in meta analytical estimates of NOx and ADMA responses between arginine or placebo treatments. Overall, the results indicated that oral L-arginine supplementation was not associated with improvements on selected variables in these patients (PROSPERO Registration: CRD42017077289)