L-Arginine for Wound Healing

Research suggests that L-arginine plays a meaningful role in wound healing, primarily through its function as the precursor to nitric oxide, a signaling molecule that supports blood flow, collagen synthesis, immune response, and tissue repair. The available evidence comes largely from animal studies and experimental models — including rats with induced diabetes or traumatic injury — along with laboratory cell culture work and reviews of biological mechanisms, with findings generally pointing in a supportive direction; for example, studies in diabetic and trauma-injured rats found that L-arginine supplementation improved wound-breaking strength and collagen deposition compared to untreated controls, and more recent work has explored novel delivery methods such as microneedle patches and nanofibrous dressings incorporating L-arginine that showed accelerated wound closure in animal models. Some studies present a more nuanced picture, including research suggesting that arginase1 — an enzyme that competes with nitric oxide synthase for L-arginine — also plays an important protective role in wound defense, and one study found that depleting arginine systemically with an enzyme therapy still improved wound healing through anti-inflammatory mechanisms, indicating that the relationship between arginine metabolism and repair is more complex than a simple more-is-better dynamic. The overall body of evidence is promising but limited by its heavy reliance on animal and in vitro research, meaning the translation to clinical outcomes in humans remains an open and important question.