Did you know?
In part II we review the dietary sources of agmatine and ask the question: Are we getting enough?
This is the first part of a 3 part series uncovering the novel nutrient Agmatine which will no doubt make some waves in 2007 and beyond. I want to take you inside the benefits of this exciting and essential polyamine. Learn more...
This is the first part of a 3 part series uncovering the novel nutrient Agmatine which will no doubt make some big waves in the industry in 2007 and beyond. Given that almost all bioactives and dietary constituents have been exploited by dietary supplement manufactures in some way it is a real pleasure to introduce you to a relatively unknown.
I want to take you inside the biochemical, physiological and performance benefits of this exciting and essential polyamine. Agmatine is another exciting nutrient falling from what us biochemists call the "guanidine group" of compounds such as creatine, but will its effectiveness when given orally match the vast impact of creatine? Is it safe? How does it work? What is the correct dose?
Did You Know?
The term "agmatine" was coined in 1910 by Albrecht Kossel, the German scientist who first identified the substance in herring sperm.
Kossel was awarded the 1910 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research in cell biology, especially proteins and nucleic acids. Along With agmatine, he also discovered the amino acid histidine (1896) and thymic acid (1910).
These questions and more will be covered over the coming series of articles... So stay tuned.
Part 1 of this article will cover:
Pharmacokinetics & Metabolism
Its distribution in the body
Biological role (what it does in the body)
Nb. A full reference list will be provided in part 3
Pharmacokinetics & Metabolism
The pathways of synthesis and degradation regarding agmatine are complex but for the first part of this mini review I will keep to the very basics. Agmatine is formed by the decarboxylation of L-arginine by the enzyme arginine decarboxylase and is degraded by the enzyme diamine oxidase.1, 2
However, only a small fraction of the total agmatine stores are thought to be formed by this method and that it is likely a specific high capacity transporters exists to remove agmatine from the blood and deliver it to tissues for metabolism and/or storage.3
The pharmacokinetics of agmatine is very interesting in that its half life is extremely short with plasma concentrations following administration peaking at about 15 minutes in plasma (see figure.1).4 Of further interest and as a caution regarding high dosage is the ability of Agmatine to cross the blood brain barrier thereby allowing it to be directly stored in all parts of the central nervous system.5-7
Click Image To Enlarge. Figure 1.
This has been confirmed in a selection of research studies showing appearance of agmatine in cerebro-spinal fluid. 8, 9 Because agmatine directly influences the CNS on a number of levels (of which I will cover later) dose for reasons of both safety and effectiveness is the key issue regarding agmatine supplementation so be warned.
1 of 3: The Central Nervous System (CNS):
The human central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord. These lie in the midline of the body and are protected by the skull and vertebrae respectively.
This collection of billions of neurons is arguably the most complex object known.
The central nervous system along with the peripheral nervous system comprise a primary division of controls that command all physical activities of a human.
Neurons of the central nervous system affect consciousness and mental activity while spinal extensions of central nervous system neuron pathways affect skeletal muscles and organs in the body.
Therefore, maximum tissue delivery of agmatine and its subsequent effects should occur shortly after this 15 minute window. If delivered as a dietary supplement this data set should give manufactures some clue as to the time of consumption for exercise enhancement (again more in-depth info on this to follow in part 3).
Distribution In The Body
So what about the distribution throughout the body?
In a selection of studies the distribution seems to be generally defined in animal species.10-14 The highest concentration of cellular agmatine can be found in the stomach,15 with the aorta and small intestine next followed by smaller levels in the spleen, adrenals, skeletal muscle16 and the brain. 17
Although, you would generally think that the higher the concentration in a metabolite in a specific tissue would indicate the site of greatest effect however it's never as simple as this in reality.
Anatomy Video. Click Play To Start The Video.
As an example following agmatine administration around 70% is stored in the liver (we will discuss this latter) which may suggest this is a major site of action. Following supplementation it may not be the stomach (highest concentration) but in the liver where the greatest uptake is occurring. Again another interesting indicator we will dig into further as this series of articles progress.
Affects On The Body
How does agmatine affect the body?
As previously discussed agmatine is widely distributed throughout the body and as such it is not surprising that agmatine has been assigned with multiple roles. Which include the following:
These are just a selection of actions which may have direct implications to the enhancement of exercise performance and also the adaptive and recovery processes associated with intense exercise. The exciting news is that there is direct evidence for a performance enhancement of exercise performance 28 following agmatine administration which we will cover in the coming parts of this series on agmatine and its supplementation.
Preview
In part II we review the dietary sources of agmatine and ask the question: Are we getting enough? We will also get up close and personal with the actions of agmatine and ask: Are all the listed actions really that proven?
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