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Effects of oral L ‐arginine supplementation on blood pressure and asymmetric dimethylarginine in stress‐induced preeclamptic rats
Author(s) -
Altun Zekiye Sultan,
Uysal Sezer,
Guner Gul,
Yilmaz Osman,
Posaci Cemal
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
cell biochemistry and function
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1099-0844
pISSN - 0263-6484
DOI - 10.1002/cbf.1491
Subject(s) - asymmetric dimethylarginine , arginine , blood pressure , medicine , endocrinology , cardiology , chemistry , biochemistry , amino acid
This study was carried out to elucidate the role of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and nitric oxide (NO) in preeclampsia development, and to investigate the effect of L ‐arginine supplementation in rats. Preeclampsia was induced in pregnant rats using a stress model. L ‐arginine was administered orally and ADMA, urinary nitrate, and protein levels were measured on the 20th day of pregnancy. Compared with the group of rats that are normally pregnant, the levels of blood pressure (BP), protein excretion, and ADMA were significantly increased in preeclampsia which returned to normal levels following the supplementation of L ‐arginine. Both group of rats had similar urine nitrate levels. Arginine–ADMA–NO pathway is affected in preeclampsia. L ‐arginine supplementation decreased hypertension (HT), proteinuria, and ADMA levels indicating that taking L ‐arginine may be beneficial in preeclampsia treatment. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.