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Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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15.12.2011 |
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Mix of propionyl-L-carnitine and L-arginine improves erection
Give men with erection problems 250 mg daily of propionyl-L-carnitine [structural formula shown below] together with 2500 mg L-arginine and their sex life will improve. Researchers at the Sapienza University of Rome discovered this when they did experiments with 54 men aged between 35 and 75.
In the Italian study, which will be published soon in Andrologia, the men were given a powder containing the two compounds plus 20 mg of the vitamin B3 analogue niacin. That's a low amount; multi-vitamin tablets usually contain more. The men dissolved the powder in a glass of water and drank this. The powder was supplied by Sigma-Tau, a manufacturer of carnitine analogues. The manufacturer's name crops up surprisingly often in studies on the positive health effects of carnitine.
The Andrologia article does not mention who funded the Italian study.
Carnitine analogues, whether or not combined with niacin, boost fatty acid combustion in cells, and therefore also in the cells of the blood vessel walls. As a result of this fewer free radicals are produced and the blood vessels become more flexible. This is how carnitine strengthens the effect of L-arginine. In theory at least.
Most of the test subjects indicated that they would like to continue using the supplement. Few side effects were observed.
"In addition to first-line treatment in selected patients, the formulation tested may have a role as adjuvant therapy", the researchers conclude.
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