Arginine and Vitamin C Antiviral Treatment Research

[Ema]

It is thus very likely that arginine – with pKa 9.0 and 12,5- (and possibly other basic amino-acids - lysine, histidine, ornithine) defeats some viral activities by simply raising the pH of the membranes above a threshold pH where fusion of viral particles with the cellular membrane stops, thus limiting and preventing viral replication. The interplay between arginine and vitamin C is yet to be elucidated, but it is probable that vitamin C helps destroy the viral nucleic acids (both DNA and RNA) while they are freely circulating outside the cells and while their fusion with the cell membrane is being hindered by arginine's actions.

The doses we used for antiviral treatment were 3-5 g of arginine and 3-4 g of vitamin C divided in 3-4 daily administrations. The safety of such doses is very good, especially given the short treatment duration (up to 14 days of continuous administration). It is known from studies and clinical practice that arginine doses between 4-20 g are safely used in adults for cardiovascular conditions (angina pectoris, intermittent claudication, etc.) and even in premature infants up to 1 g/day was safely administered to prevent inflammation of the digestive tract.

Full text here: https://www.researchgate.net/profil...0f/New-broad-spectrum-antiviral-treatment.pdf

 

[helen1]

Strange, as most anti-herpes treatments say to reduce arginine and to increase lysine. Arginine promotes viral replication apparently.

@Ema

 

[Hip]

Strange, as most anti-herpes treatments say to reduce arginine and to increase lysine. Arginine promotes viral replication apparently.

I have never come across any definitive evidence for arginine promoting viral replication, but have seen studies which found arginine inhibits replication:

Antiviral effect of arginine against herpes simplex virus type 1
Down-regulation of spontaneous Epstein-Barr virus reactivation in the P3HR-1 cell line by L-arginine
Oral L-arginine prevents murine coxsackievirus B3 myocarditis


I have noticed that high doses of arginine (eg 10 or 20 grams daily) can sometimes cause a cold sore to appear (herpes simplex reactivation), but that event does not imply that arginine promotes herpes simplex in the long term.

 

[pattismith]

Strange, as most anti-herpes treatments say to reduce arginine and to increase lysine. Arginine promotes viral replication apparently.

@Ema

"Abstract
In the studies conducted, arginine deficiency suppressed herpes simplex virus replication in tissue culture. Lysine, an analog of arginine, as an antimetabolite, antagonized the viral growth-promoting action of arginine. The in vitro data may be the basis for the observation that patients prone to herpetic lesions and other related viral infections, particularly during periods of stress, should abstain from arginine excess and may also require supplemental lysine in their diet."

Arginine has the ability to increase Growth Hormone, but I have problems with Herpes simplex (because my Low T3 fails to keep it under control), so I'm not sure if Arginine is a good idea for me, or maybe I will have to raise my Lysine intake.
I'm not sure I will still have some benefits from arginine if I do that...

Thank you ema for bringing this interesting thread

 

[cfs since 1998]

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I recently independently came across the study "Down-regulation of spontaneous Epstein-Barr virus reactivation in the P3HR-1 cell line by L-arginine" which Hip posted above.

I came across it because I have been researching endothelial dysfunction, which is apparently common in ME/CFS. Fluge and Mella's "pathomechanisms" paper say that the endothelial dysfunction is independent of Nitric Oxide; in other words, our endothelial cells correctly respond to NO, so logically it could be concluded we must have a decreased ability to make NO. L-Arginine is one supplement that can increase NO production.

Of course, I was concerned that arginine supplementation might increase EBV replication, so I started searching for evidence of that. I'm a bit surprised to see that the opposite might be the case. Honestly, it's rather confusing.