Arginine pharmacokinetics in humans assessed with an enzymatic assay adapted to a centrifugal analyzer

Arginine is used in supra-physiological concentrations as an insulin secretagogue, in both in vitro and in vivo studies. To investigate the pharmacokinetics of arginine in humans, we have developed a rapid, automated assay of arginine in serum, based on our manual enzymatic method (Clin Chim Acta 1988, 176; 185-94). The limit of linearity of the automated assay was an arginine concentration of 3 mmol/L. Within-run CVs for Ortho control sera with added arginine were 5.5%, 0.8%, and 0.7% at concentrations of 0.16, 1.30, and 2.50 mmol/L, respectively. After 30 min of primed continuous infusions with arginine at infusion rates of 3, 9, 15, and 21 mg/kg per minute, mean (+/- SEM) arginine concentrations in serum from eight volunteers were 1.17 +/- 0.08, 3.44 +/- 0.21, 6.84 +/- 0.58, and 9.25 +/- 0.39 mmol/L, respectively, well within the range of arginine concentrations shown (in vitro) to stimulate insulin secretion. Metabolic clearance of arginine was approximately 11 mL/kg body wt per minute. For the lowest three infusion rates, the half-life (t1/2) of arginine was approximately 15 min and the volume of distribution (Vd) was approximately 290 mL/kg. At the highest infusion rate, t1/2 was significantly increased (27.3 +/- 3.1 min), owing to an increased Vd (446 +/- 83 mL/kg).