Arginine is an intermediate of the ornithine cycle and serves as a precursor for the synthesis
of nitric oxide, creatine, agmatine and proteins. It is considered to be a conditionally
essential amino acid because endogenous synthesis only barely meets daily requirements.
In rapidly growing suckling neonates, endogenous arginine biosynthesis is crucial to
compensate for the insufficient supply of arginine via the milk. Evidence is accumulating that
the intestine rather than the kidney plays a major role in arginine synthesis in this period …