Amino acid supplementation shows predominantly preventive effects on cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease comorbidities, with arginine and methionine attributed to the highest number of preventive and adverse effects respectively, though further clinical studies are needed for validation.
Key Findings
Methods
The systematic review identified 60 publications meeting inclusion criteria, comprising studies across multiple experimental designs.
Data synthesis was conducted based on 60 publications total
Publications included 13 clinical studies, 43 in vivo studies, and 4 in vitro studies
Databases searched were PubMed and Web of Science
The review was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42023493924)
Risk of bias was assessed using three appropriate tools
Results
The majority of publications reported preventive effects of amino acid supplementation on CVD and CKD comorbidities.
43 out of 60 publications reported preventive effects of amino acids
18 publications described adverse effects of amino acids
Three publications described both preventive and adverse effects of different amino acids
Only two publications showed no effects caused by amino acids
Results
Arginine was attributed to the highest number of preventive effects among the amino acids studied.
Arginine was identified as the amino acid with the most preventive effects on CVD and CKD comorbidities
Arginine's effects were studied across multiple study types including clinical, in vivo, and in vitro designs
The review classified studies based on preventive or harmful effects for each amino acid
Results
Methionine was attributed to the highest number of adverse effects among the amino acids studied.
Methionine was identified as the amino acid with the most adverse effects on CVD and CKD comorbidities
Methionine's adverse effects were noted across the included study types
The contrast between arginine (most preventive) and methionine (most adverse) represents a key finding of the review
Discussion
A major limitation of most publications included in the review is the lack of translation of findings to humans.
The review notes that a limitation of most publications is 'the pending translation to humans'
The majority of studies were in vivo (43 publications) compared to only 13 clinical studies
Only 4 publications were in vitro studies
The authors conclude that further clinical studies are needed for validation of these findings
Conclusions
Amino acid supplementation is suggested as a potentially valuable addition to treatment options for CVD and CKD patients.
The overall findings suggest amino acid supplementation as 'a potentially valuable addition to treatment options for CVD and CKD patients'
The review was framed as providing 'the basis for novel prevention and treatment options'
The authors note that despite the crucial role of amino acids as fundamental dietary components, their impact on CVD and CKD comorbidities 'has been insufficiently studied'
The review was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG, SFB/TRR219)