Effect of oral l-arginine supplementation on blood pressure: A meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials

Dong, Jia-Yi; Qin, Li-Qiang; Zhang, Zengli; Zhao, Youyou; Wang, Junkuan; Arigoni, Fabrizio; Zhang, Weiguo

doi:10.1016/j.ahj.2011.09.012

Cited by 227Blood Pressure and Hypertension StudiesNitric Oxide and Endothelin EffectsCardiovascular Health and Disease Prevention

Effect of oral l-arginine supplementation on blood pressure: A meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials

Dong, Jia-Yi, Qin, Li-Qiang, Zhang, Zengli, Zhao, Youyou, Wang, Junkuan, Arigoni, Fabrizio, Zhang, Weiguo·2011·American Heart Journal

DOI 10.1016/j.ahj.2011.09.012

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Abstract

Background Previous studies suggest that L-arginine, an amino acid and a substrate of nitric oxide synthase, may have blood pressure (BP)-lowering effect. Because some studies were performed with limited number of patients with hypertension and therefore limited statistical power with sometimes inconsistent results, we aimed to examine the effect of oral L-arginine supplementation on BP by conducting a meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.Methods PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the ClinicalTrials.gov databases were searched through June 2011 to identify randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of oral L-arginine supplementation on BP in humans. We also reviewed reference lists of obtained articles. Either a fixed-effects or, in the presence of heterogeneity, a random-effects model was used to calculate the combined treatment effect.Results We included 11 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials involving 387 participants with oral L-arginine intervention ranging from 4 to 24 g/d. Compared with placebo, L-arginine intervention significantly lowered systolic BP by 5.39 mm Hg (95% CI -8.54 to -2.25, P = .001) and diastolic BP by 2.66 mm Hg (95% CI -3.77 to -1.54, P < .001). Sensitivity analyses restricted to trials with a duration of 4 weeks or longer and to trials in which participants did not use antihypertensive medications yielded similar results. Meta-regression analysis suggested an inverse, though insignificant (P = .13), relation between baseline systolic BP and net change in systolic BP.Conclusions This meta-analysis provides further evidence that oral L-arginine supplementation significantly lowers both systolic and diastolic BP.

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A recent meta-analysis indicates that l-arginine doses between 4 and 24 g/day decrease blood pressure (systolic 5 mmHg; diastolic 3 mmHg).
“A recent meta-analysis indicates that doses between 4 and 24 g/day decrease blood pressure (systolic, 5 mmHg; diastolic, 3 mmHg) (240).”
From Sources of Vascular Nitric Oxide and Reactive Oxygen Species and Their Regulation (2019) · cites this paper as [240]
A recent meta-analysis found that oral L-arginine supplementation significantly reduced systolic blood pressure by 5.3 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by 2.6 mm Hg.
“A recent meta-analysis of the effects of oral L-arginine supplementation on BP reported a significant effect on systolic BP (25.3 mm Hg) and diastolic BP (22.6 mm Hg) (47), which are comparable with the effect sizes observed in our meta-analysis.”
From Inorganic Nitrate and Beetroot Juice Supplementation Reduces Blood Pressure in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2013) · cites this paper as [47]

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Authors: Dong, J.-Y., Qin, L.-Q., Zhang, Z., Zhao, Y., Wang, J., Arigoni, F., & Zhang, W.
Affiliations: Soochow University (CN)
Nestlé (China) (CN)
The University of Tokyo (JP)
Corresponding author: Zhang, Weiguo
ORCID: Qin, Li-Qiang
Zhang, Zengli
Zhang, Weiguo
Venue: American Heart Journal
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 2011-12
Volume: 162
Issue: 6
Pages: 959-965
ISSN: 0002-8703 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/j.ahj.2011.09.012
OpenAlex: W2008954370
Cited by: 227
References: 36
Citations by year: 2026: 11 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 6
FWCI: 1.60
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
www.elsevier.com/legal/tdmrep-license (tdm)
Locations: American Heart Journal (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Blood Pressure and Hypertension Studies
Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Nitric Oxide and Endothelin Effects
Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Health and Disease Prevention
Keywords: L-arginine, oral supplementation, blood pressure, hypertension, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, nitric oxide synthase, antihypertensive effect
MeSH terms: Administration, Oral, Adult, Aged, Antihypertensive Agents, Arginine, Blood Pressure, Double-Blind Method, Female, Humans, Hypertension, Male, Middle Aged, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Dietary Supplements, Young Adult

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Effect of oral l-arginine supplementation on blood pressure: A meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials

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