TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE–      –         –         –         –         –         –         –         i

CERTIFICATION-          –         –         –         –         –         –         ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS-      –         –         –         –         –         iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS-         –         –         –         –         –         iv-vi

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of the Study-          –         –         –         –         –         1-3

CHAPTER TWO: HISTORY OF ARGININE

2.1     Metabolism of Arginine-  –         –         –         –         –         –         5-6

2.2     Production of Arginine –  –         –         –         –         –         –         6–8

2.3     Dietary Sources-    –         –         –         –         –         –         –         8-9

2.4     Biosynthesis of Arginine- –         –         –         –         –         –         9-10

2.5     Degradation of Arginine- –         –         –         –         –         –         10-11

CHAPTER THREE: THE BIOCHEMICAL IMPORTANCE OF ARGININE

3.1     As proteins- –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         12

3.2     As precursor-         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         13-14

3.3     As growth hormone-       –         –         –         –         –         –         14

3.4     Reduction of High Blood pressure-     –         –         –         –         14

CHAPTER FOUR: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

4.1     Summary-    –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         15

4.2     Conclusion- –         –         –         –         –         –         –         –         15

References

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Arginine (Arg) is a basic amino acid (AA) in physiological fluids. Its content is relatively high in seafood, watermelon juice, nuts, seeds, algae, meats, rice protein concentrate, and soy protein isolate (Hou et al., 2008), but low in the milk of most mammals (including cows, humans, and pigs) (Davis et al., 1994). Results of the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey indicate that mean Arg intake for the US adult population is 4.4 g/day, with 25, 20 and 10% of people consuming 7.5 g/day, respectively (King et al., 2008). In addition, preterm infants, who represent 10–12% of newborns, exhibit Arg deficiency (Becker et al., 2000), resulting in hyperammonemia and multiorgan dysfunction (Wu et al., 2007). Thus, Arginine nutrition remains a significant concern in both human and animal health, as well as livestock production (Matro et al., 2007).

Substantial amounts of orally administered Arg do not enter the systemic circulation in adults (humans, pigs, and rats), because 40% of dietary arginine is degraded by the small intestine in first pass metabolism (Castillo et al., 1993). In contrast, there is little arginase activity in absorptive epithelial cells (enterocytes) of the neonatal small intestine and nearly all of the absorbed dietary Arginine that is not utilized locally for protein synthesis can enter the portal vein of suckling infants (Wu et al., 1996). Because Arginine is the nitrogenous precursor for the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO); a key signaling molecule in virtually every cell type) by NO synthase (NOS) and regulates vital metabolic pathways (Jobgen et al., 2006). There is growing interest in arginine nutrition and physiology beyond protein synthesis (Morris, 2007). Therefore, this seminar is on versatile roles of arginine in the living system.