L-Ornithine is a non-protein amino acid, which means it is not used in protein synthesis in the body. However, it does play a vital role in the urea cycle.
Key health benefits of ornithine include detoxification, supporting muscle growth and recovery, and improving sleep. Elevating ornithine levels may also boost immunity and support wound healing.
What is ornithine?
L-Ornithine is an amino acid naturally produced by our bodies. It has a variety of effects, including supporting strength, endurance and muscle recovery, as well as reducing stress levels and promoting better sleep. Its most important role is to manage and remove waste, especially ammonia and excess nitrogen, which are processed and removed in the urea cycle.
Excess ammonia (which naturally accumulates in your body) is converted to urea in the liver, which then enters the bloodstream, is filtered by the kidneys, and is excreted in the urine.
If ammonia levels continue to rise, it can become toxic and harm your health. Because L-ornithine acts as a catalyst to convert ammonia into urea, the urea cycle is sometimes called the ornithine cycle.
Relationship between Arginine and Ornithine:
Ornithine is produced in the body when arginine, another amino acid, is metabolized during the production of urea in the urea cycle. These two amino acids work harmoniously together, allowing both to work more effectively with the arginine needed to help the body absorb ornithine.
Ornithine Health Benefits
- It can help fight fatigue by keeping energy levels balanced.
- It can help you relax and sleep better at night because it reduces the stress hormone cortisol.
- It is believed to help people recover faster from exercise.
- It is associated with increases in muscle strength because it increases the production of arginine, which in turn increases the production of creatine, a substance found in muscle cells that helps your muscles perform during high-intensity exercise and energy production during weight lifting.
- Ornithine is also thought to speed up the healing process by reducing the breakdown of proteins, thereby helping to build new tissue in the body. This helps your muscles recover after exercise and helps your skin heal wounds.
- Ornithine has also been studied for its potential role in promoting liver health.
Sources of L-ornithine
Ornithine is a non-essential amino acid that is produced in your body (unlike the essential amino acids that your body must obtain from external sources). As mentioned earlier, it is produced from arginine in liver cells.
You can also get L-ornithine from food, especially animal protein, including:
- Meat
- fish
- dairy
- Egg
If you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, the following foods also provide excellent sources of L-ornithine:
- Coconut and other nuts (especially peanuts)
- sesame seeds
- pumpkin seeds
- wheat germ
- oat
- soybeans
- Quinoa
- Tofu
- Tempeh
Can you supplement ornithine levels?
If your body cannot produce enough L-ornithine, causing you to become deficient in L-ornithine, you will face potentially serious problems from consuming too much toxic waste in your system. If left untreated, this can affect your health.
If you're not getting enough L-ornithine and your body has trouble producing it, supplements can help.
Ornithine supplements typically come in one of the following combinations. It is often created with other amino acids/nutrients, allowing them to work together for optimal health results:
- L-Ornithine Hydrochloride – This is called L-Ornithine Hydrochloride. It's ornithine, with an extra hydrogen and chlorine atom. It is recommended to take it in liquid form, 1.5 grams per serving.
- Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (called OAKG) combines ornithine and the dicarboxylic acid alpha-ketoglutarate. It comes in the form of salt and it is generally recommended to consume around 3 grams per day.
Do supplements have side effects?
At low recommended doses, clinical trials rarely show any side effects from taking ornithine supplements.
When taken by mouth: 500 mg of ornithine per day for 8 weeks and 12 g of ornithine per day for 4 weeks is probably safe. It may cause stomach or intestinal symptoms.
When taking higher doses (most commonly to increase growth hormone synthesis), there are the following reported side effects, so caution is advised:
- cough often
- nausea
- muscle spasms
- diarrhea
