What is the Difference Between L Arginine and Arginine AKG

The main difference between L arginine and arginine AKG is that L-arginine is a nonessential amino acid which the body cannot produce  whereas arginine AKG is a dietary supplement, containing the salt of L-arginine and α-ketoglutarate. Furthermore, L-arginine regulates blood flow through the production of nitric oxide while arginine AKG enhances blood flow, energy, and recovery in athletes.

L-arginine and arginine AKG are two dietary supplements used to improve the health with added benefits for various diseases.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is L Arginine
     – Definition, Features, Importance
2. What is Arginine AKG
     – Definition, Features, Importance
3. What are the Similarities Between L Arginine and Arginine AKG
     – Outline of Common Features
4. What is the Difference Between L Arginine and Arginine AKG
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Alpha-Ketoglutarate, Arginine AKG, Dietary supplements, L-Arginine, Lean Muscle Mass

What is L Arginine

L-arginine is a semi-essential amino acid required in protein synthesis. Our body can produce arginine through biochemical reactions. However, it requires some amount of arginine from the diet. Nevertheless, the cell lining of blood vessels uses L-arginine to produce nitric oxide, a neurotransmitter responsible for vasodilation. Therefore, L-arginine supplements can boost blood flow by increasing the production of nitric oxide, which in turn boost the transport of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.

Figure 1: L-Arginine

In addition, L-arginine is involved in the production of somatotropin, a growth hormone. Also, growth hormones play a key role in metabolism. It can increase the lean muscle mass in athletes. More significantly, physicians prescribe L-arginine supplements to treat diseases related to the decreased blood flow including angina, hypertension and congestive heart failure. Efforts are also being made to use L-arginine to treat type 2 diabetes and many other diseases.

What is Arginine AKG

Arginine ALG is a type of arginine-containing dietary supplement used to enhance the performance of athletes. The two components of this supplement are L-arginine and alpha-ketoglutarate. L-arginine has many health benefits as mentioned above. In addition, alpha-ketoglutarate is an intermediate of the citric acid cycle, serving as an energy-producing molecule and a precursor to amino acids such as L-glutamic acid. Here, L-glutamic acid is a main component of muscles.

Figure 2: Alpha-Ketoglutarate

Therefore, in contrast to L-arginine supplements, arginine AKG supplements do not involve in clinical applications. Instead, they are used to enhance the performance of bodybuilders and weightlifters. More importantly, arginine AKG can increase nitric oxide levels in short term, resulting in short term muscle growth environments. It can increase the blood flow in working muscles. Thus, it increases both lean muscle mass and muscle strength. However, arginine AKG supplements are more impressive when taken with overall amino acid supplements.

Similarities Between L Arginine and Arginine AKG

• L- arginine and arginine AKG are two forms of arginine-containing dietary supplements.
• Both supplements promote health benefits regarding increasing blood flow.
• Moreover, both can increase the creatine and glutamine levels, aiding in increasing the muscle mass.

Difference Between L Arginine and Arginine AKG

Definition

L-arginine refers to an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins while arginine AKG refers to a salt of the amino acid arginine and alpha-ketoglutaric acid marketed as a bodybuilding supplement. Thus, this is the main difference between L arginine and arginine AKG.

Components

Chemically, the difference between L arginine and arginine AKG is that while L-arginine is composed of an optical isomer of arginine, rotating the plane-polarized light anticlockwise, arginine AKG is composed of the salt of l-arginine and alpha-ketoglutarate.

Function

Functionally, the difference between L arginine and arginine AKG is that the L-arginine is a nonessential amino acid used by protein synthesis and vasodilation via the production of nitric oxide while arginine AKG enhances blood flow and energy in athletes.

Uses

Furthermore, L-arginine supplements are important to treat cardiovascular disorders like angina, hypertension and congestive heart failure while arginine AKG is important to enhance the performance of bodybuilders and weightlifters. Hence, this is another difference between L arginine and arginine AKG based on the usage.

Conclusion

L-arginine is a dietary supplement used to enhance health benefits and to treat diseases related to decreased blood flow. Generally, L-arginine is a nonessential amino acid used in protein synthesis. It has other roles in vasodilation through the production of nitric oxide. In comparison, arginine AKG is another form of arginine-containing supplement, composed of L-arginine and alpha-ketoglutarate. Here, Alpha-ketoglutarate is involved in the production of energy and amino acids. Therefore, arginine AKG is important for increasing the performance of athletes. However, the main difference between L arginine and arginine AKG is the components of the supplements and their function.

References:

1. “Arginine (L-Arginine) Supplements: Uses, Side Effects, and More.” WebMD, WebMD, Available Here.
2. Cohen, Joe. “12 Health Benefits of AAKG Side Effects.” Selfhacked, Selfhacked, 1 Feb. 2019, Available Here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “L-arginine” By No machine-readable author provided. Benjah-bmm27 assumed (based on copyright claims). – No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims). (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia  
2. “Alpha-ketoglutaric acid” By Edgar181 – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia