Effect of long-term treatment of L-ornithine on visual function and retinal histology in the rats

L-Ornithine is a non-proteinogenic amino acid, abundant in freshwater clams and commercially available as an oral nutritional supplement. L-Ornithine is metabolized by ornithine-δ-aminotransferase. Deficiency of this enzyme causes gyrate atrophy of the choroid and retina, an autosomal recessive hereditary disease characterized by the triad of progressive chorioretinal degeneration, early cataract formation, and type II muscle fiber atrophy, with hyperornithinemia. However, it is unknown whether long-term L-ornithine supplementation affects visual function and retinal histology. The aim of the present study is to determine the effect of long-term supplementation of excess amounts of L-ornithine on visual function and retinal histology in rats. Male Brown Norway rats at six weeks of age were allowed free access to chow containing 4% (w/w) L-ornithine (the high ornithine diet) or that containing 4% (w/w) casein (the control diet) for 49 weeks. The dose of L-ornithine calculated from the food intake was approximately 0.8 g/d/animal, which was 100 times higher than the recommended dose for healthy humans. The amplitude of the a-wave of the scotopic rod-cone electroretinogram and the number of cells in the ganglion cell layer in the L-ornithine-treated group were larger than those in the control group 49 weeks after initiating the test diet. No functional or histological damage to the retina was seen up to 49 weeks after the start of the high-ornithine diet. The present study demonstrated that long-term supplementation of very high doses of L-ornithine for at least 49 weeks did not induce retinal damage.