Stimulation of insulin secretion by large-dose oral arginine administration in healthy adults

Abstract

The effects of large-dose oral arginine administration on the secretion of insulin by islet β-cells in healthy adults were determined. Eight non-obese healthy volunteers with normal glucose tolerance participated randomly in tests with four stages (with an interval of at least 3 days): the 300 ml purified water stage (PWS), the 75 g glucose stage (GSS), the 30 g arginine stage (ARS) and the 75 g glucose with 30 g arginine stage (GAS). Venous blood samples were collected to detect the concentrations of glucose and insulin at baseline (0) and at 15, 30, 45, 60 and 120 min after drug administration. The glucose and insulin levels were steady in the PWS. The remaining three stages had similarly shaped insulin concentration-time curves, which differed from that of the PWS. The peak concentration of blood insulin and the net incremental area under the curve of blood insulin in the GSS, ARS and GAS were significantly higher compared with those in the PWS (P<0.05). In the ARS, the glucose levels remained stable; however, the net incremental area under the curve for blood insulin in the ARS was much lower compared with that in the GSS or GAS (P<0.05). Large-dose oral arginine administration may slightly stimulate insulin secretion by islet β-cells in healthy adults with normal glucose tolerance in a manner that is independent of glucose concentration.

A Specific Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis of Type 2 Diabetic Mice Induces GLP-1 Resistance through an Enteric NO-Dependent and Gut-Brain Axis Mechanism

“…Inducing enteric neuropathy in control mice using cisplatin (Vera et al, 2011) could mimic GLP-1 resistance, further showing the importance of a functional ENS on the control of GLP-1 action. Our conclusions are comforted by few data from the literature, which showed that in humans the NO-donor L-arginine improves meal-induced insulin secretion when administered orally in healthy T2D patients and diabetic mice (Ozbek et al, 2009;Tang et al, 2013). Therefore, a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of T2D could emerge and benefit patients notably when GLP-1-based therapies are failing at inclusion or overtime during the treatment.…”

The Impact of Amino Acids on Postprandial Glucose and Insulin Kinetics in Humans: A Quantitative Overview

“…The time series data and the calculated kinetic parameters are visualized in Supplemental Figure S4 . The effects of oral arginine ingestion have been investigated in healthy individuals only [ 26 , 27 ] (Supplemental Figure S4A ). One out of the two studies [ 27 ], with the largest oral arginine dose, showed increased insulin concentrations (iAUC, 1.41 µU/mL/min) compared to water intake (iAUC, 0.06 µU/mL/min), with no significant effect on glucose concentrations.…”

“…Despite the lower insulin peak, the insulin concentrations remained elevated for a longer time after co-ingestion of arginine+glucose. Tang et al [ 27 ] showed a non-significant increase in insulin concentrations when glucose was co-ingested with arginine (iAUC, 28.62 µU/mL/min) compared to glucose ingestion alone (iAUC, 19.05 µU/mL/min). Glucose concentrations were unchanged.…”