DOES THE SUPPLEMENTATION OF ARGININE STAND FOR THE EFFECTIVE METHOD OF IMPROVING THE FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY IN SPORT ACTIVITIES?

Arginine is a semi-essential amino acid taking part in the processes involved in the biosynthesis of proteins, the regulation of endothelium activity and the detoxification of an organism. The importance of the proper use of arginine increases in such physiological conditions as a disease, an injury or a substantial overload of an organism. The potential ergogenic influence of arginine supply, through the stimulation of nitric oxide synthesis, human growth hormone and creatine, makes arginine very popular among sportsmen. Many clinical tests present the relationship between arginine supply and the functional capacity improvement and the beneficial regulation of endocrinologic parameters. Such results are explicit while testing convalescents or those suffering from cardiovascular diseases. However, the results of highly-trained and healthy sportsmen are ambiguous. It might be very often observed that there is no connection between arginine and power, strength and muscle mass, the maximum oxygen consumption, the human growth hormone and nitric oxide concentration. Taking it into consideration, the necessity of further research on the functionality of increasing arginine supply among various sportsmen, is firmly supported. Nevertheless, such research needs to be restricted by appropriate procedures, considering cross-over study with double- blind test.