Title:Effect of L-Arginine and Selenium on Metabolic Features, Insulin Resistance and Hepatic Function Tests in Obese Women
VOLUME: 11 ISSUE: 2
Author(s):Bahram P. Gargari, Mohammad Alizadeh, Abdolrasoul Safaeiyan and Rassoul Zarrin
Affiliation:Food and Beverages Safety Research Center, Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Serow Highway, Nazloo, PO Box: 5756115111, Urmia, Iran.
Keywords:Central obesity, hypocaloric diet, insulin resistance, L-arginine, metabolic syndrome, selenium.
Abstract:To investigate the beneficial effect of L-arginine and selenium along with hypocaloric diet
on metabolic features, insulin resistance and hepatic function tests this study were conducted on
women with central obesity. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was undertaken
among 68 premenopausal women with central obesity. After 2 weeks of run-in period of an isocaloric
diet, participants were randomly assigned into four groups of hypocaloric control diet (HCD), Larginine
(5 g / d) + HCD, selenium (200 µg / d) + HCD, or L-arginine + selenium + HCD for 6 weeks. The following
variables were assessed at baseline (start of intervention) and 3 and 6 weeks after intervention: Waist circumference
(WC), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting serum concentrations of triglyceride (TG),
High-density lipoprotein-cholestrol (HDL-C), fasting blood sugar (FBS), insulin, homeostasis model of insulin resistance
(HOMA-IR), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartat aminotransferase (AST). When t-test was used for data analysis,
HCD reduced SBP (P = 0.009) and TG (P = 0.05); HCD + L-arginine reduced WC more than HCD (P = 0.008);
HCD + Selenium reduced fasting serum concentration of ALT (P = 0.007); and selenium reduced fasting serum concentrations
of insulin (P = 0.05) and HOMA - IR (P = 0.04), after 6 weeks of interventions. The study showed beneficial effects
of L-arginine on central obesity, selenium on insulin resistance and hepatic function and HCD on blood pressure and
serum lipid profile.
