Arginine is a non-essential amino acid that becomes essential under certain conditions such as accelerated growth. Evidence suggests that arginine may cause an increase in growth hormone response which has made the amino acid of interest to athletes who require low levels of body fat and increased muscle size. A number of studies have investigated the effects of arginine supplements of human subjects. For example, in one study, researchers administered 5, 9 or 13 grams of intravenous arginine to healthy male subjects. The results of the study showed that growth hormone response was significantly elevated in the subjects at 5 and 9 grams of arginine. At 13 grams there was an elevated raise in growth hormone, but it was not larger than that observed at the lower doses and was accompanied by gastrointestinal discomfort. This suggests that arginine is a potent stimulator of growth hormone and that higher doses of arginine do not elicit better results compared to lower doses in terms of the side effects to effects ratio.
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