The Effect of Supplementation of L - Arginine on the Lipid Profile, Fasting Blood Sugar and Blood Pressure in Healthy Subjects with the preventive Approach of Cardiovascular Diseases

L - Arginine is a semi-essential amino acid that affects some blood indices. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplementation of L - Arginine on plasma lipids, blood sugar and blood pressure in healthy subjects. This study was a randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial. A lot of, 56 male athletes with an average age of 20.85±4.29 were selected from Isfahan University of Medical Sciences clubs in the winter, in 2014. Athletes received L- Arginine supplementation with a dose of 2 g daily for 45 days in the intervention group and the same amount of placebo (maltodextrin) in the control group. At the beginning and the end of the study serum levels of blood lipids, blood glucose and blood pressure were measured. Data were analyzed by using SPSS software version 19. At the end of this study, levels of fasting blood sugar, lipid profile in subjects received the L – arginine supplementation significantly improved in comparison to the control group (p value<0.05). However, no significant changes were observed in systolic and diastolic blood pressures (p value> 0.05). This study showed that a daily intake of 2 g dietary supplements of L- Arginine for 45 days in healthy subjects can improve levels of lipid profiles and fasting blood sugar and it can be used as a health-promoting supplements in healthy people.