Journal of Dietary Supplements, 11(1):40–52, 2014 C  2014 by Informa Healthcare USA, Inc. Available online at www.informahealthcare.com/jds DOI: 10.3109/19390211.2013.859216 ARTICLE L-Arginine for the Treatment of Centrally Obese Subjects: A Pilot Study Ryan T. Hurt, MD, PhD 1,2,3 , Jon O. Ebbert, MD 4,5 , Darrell R. Schroeder, MS 6 , Ivana T. Croghan, PhD 4,5 , Brent A. Bauer, MD 1 , Stephen A. McClave, MD 2 , John M. Miles, MD 7 , & Craig J. McClain, MD 3 1 Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA, 2 Department of Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, USA, 3 University of Louisville, Department of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA, 4 Division of Primary Care Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA, 5 Clinical Research Ofice, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA, 6 Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA, 7 Division of Endocrinology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA ABSTRACT. Background: Visceral adiposity has been linked to higher rates of car- diometabolic risk than other types of adiposity. Waist circumference (WC) is the best anthropomorphic surrogate of visceral adiposity. Reductions in central adiposity may decrease cardiovascular risk. Animal studies have demonstrated that L-arginine reduces visceral adiposity and fat mass. The primary aim of our study was to assess the eficacy of L-arginine for reducing central adiposity in nondiabetic obese subjects. Secondary aims were to assess the eficacy of L-arginine for decreasing body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and weight. Materials and Methods: Female subjects (n = 20) were included if they: were ≥ 18 years and ≤ 40 years of age, had a BMI of ≥ 30 and ≤ 40 kg/m 2 , had a WC ≥ 89 cm. Subjects received 3 g of L-arginine three times a day for 12 weeks and were counseled on lifestyle modiication. Results: Overall, L-arginine was well tolerated with no clinically signiicant adverse events. Serum L-arginine levels were signiicantly increased from baseline at both 6 and 12 weeks (p < .05). WC (mean ± SD) decreased from 115.6 ± 12.7 cm at baseline to 109.2 ± 11.7 cm at 12 weeks (p = .0004). Weight (mean ± SD) decreased from 98.6 ± 19.7 kg at baseline to 95.7 ± 18.6 kg at 12 weeks (p = .015). Signiicant reductions from baseline were also observed in BMI and WHR. Conclusions: L-Arginine may be effective at reducing central adiposity in obese patients. KEYWORDS. Obesity, L-arginine, supplement, weight loss Address correspondence to: Ryan T. Hurt, MD, PhD, Mayo Clinic, Division of General Internal Medicine, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA (Email: hurt.ryan@mayo.edu). 40 J Dietary Suppl Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by EBSCO on 03/05/14 For personal use only.