Buy L-Citrulline, a 100% natural dietary supplement

L-Citrulline is a natural supplement containing citrulline, a non-essential amino acid which is converted in the body into arginine. It is the only amino acid to escape splanchnic sequestration, a process which reduces amino acid circulation in older people.

What exactly is citrulline?

Citrulline is a non-essential amino acid produced in the small intestine from glutamine and arginine. In the 1980s, Windmueller and Spaeth showed that citrulline is released continually by the small intestine and that it enters the systemic circulation in a free form.

Its name comes from Citrullus vulgaris, the Latin for watermelon, one of the few foods in which it is found naturally (1).

Together with ornithine and arginine, it plays a particularly important role in what is known as the urea cycle. This is a collection of biochemical reactions which take place in the liver and which enable the body to purify neurotoxic ammonia.

Citrulline is a non-proteinogenic amino acid – it is not directly involved in making proteins and peptides.

What effects does citrulline supplementation have on the body?

Supplementing with citrulline increases the availability of citrulline and arginine, with very low levels of urinary loss (2).

When intake of proteinogenic amino acids such as arginine is judged to be excessive by the body, large-scale purification of these amino acids takes place in the liver. The majority of these amino acids are thus sequestrated and play no part in supporting optimal muscle synthesis. This is what’s known as splanchnic sequestration.. But citrulline is special: it escapes this sequestration and, unregulated by the liver, is able to circulate in the body and be converted into arginine.

As citrulline is not metabolised by the liver and is instantly converted into arginine, taking an oral citrulline supplement is actually more effective at increasing circulating arginine levels than taking arginine itself!

What is sarcopenia?

Sarcopenia is the name given to the decline in muscle mass associated with ageing. It’s the result of a physiological process that begins at the age of 30 in men, and after the menopause in women. Over time, it becomes pathological as it tends to engender dependency and a reduction in everyday activities.

What happens when you supplement with citrulline?

Once ingested, citrulline is converted into arginine in the kidneys, which helps produce nitric oxide (NO), a gas involved in vasodilation, neurotransmission and production of ATP (cellular energy).

Plasma concentrations of citrulline and arginine increase rapidly in proportion to the dose of citrulline ingested (3). These concentrations return to their initial values after a period of about six hours.

Citrulline also crosses the blood-brain barrier without any difficulty, which is fortunate given that citrulline concentrations in the brain decline with age.

Long-term supplementation with citrulline produces no adverse side-effects, unlike ornithine and arginine (4). It is completely safe (5-7). It can be incorporated into other synergistic supplements:

• Organic Chaga Extract, the secret ingredient of the Siberian people;
• Cordyceps Cs-4, a natural extract of Cordyceps sinensis for boosting performance;
• The inimitable Daily 3, the most comprehensive multivitamin available in a single capsule.

5 good reasons to supplement with citrulline

1. The concentration of citrulline in the brain declines with age.
2. In undernourished elderly people, there’s an increase in the sequestration of amino acids: systemic circulation of these amino acids decreases after meals. This gradually leads to a reduction in protein synthesis and sustains the loss of muscle seen in ageing. Citrulline escapes this sequestration process.
3. There are very few foods rich in citrulline.
4. Supplementing with citrulline poses no risk to health, even over the long term.
5. Citrulline is converted into arginine, a proteinogenic amino acid.

1. Crenn, P., Messing, B., and Cynober, L. (2008). Citrulline as a biomarker of intestinal failure due to enterocyte mass reduction. Nutr. Edinb. Scotl. 27, 328–339.
2. Rougé C, Des Robert C, Robins A, Le Bacquer O, Volteau C, De La Cochetière M-F, et al. Manipulation of citrulline availability in humans. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. nov 2007;293(5):G1061-1067.
3. Moinard C, Nicolis I, Neveux N, Darquy S, Bénazeth S, Cynober L. Dose-ranging effects of citrulline administration on plasma amino acids and hormonal patterns in healthy subjects: the Citrudose pharmacokinetic study. Br J Nutr. avr 2008;99(4):855 62.
4. Grimble GK. Adverse gastrointestinal effects of arginine and related amino acids. J Nutr. juin 2007;137(6 Suppl 2):1693S‑1701S.
5. Bailey SJ, Blackwell JR, Lord T, Vanhatalo A, Winyard PG, Jones AM. l-Citrulline supplementation improves O2 uptake kinetics and high-intensity exercise performance in humans. J Appl Physiol Bethesda Md 1985. 15 août 2015;119(4):385 95.
6. Thibault R, Flet L, Vavasseur F, Lemerle M, Ferchaud-Roucher V, Picot D, et al. Oral citrulline does not affect whole body protein metabolism in healthy human volunteers: results of a prospective, randomized, double-blind, cross-over study. Clin Nutr. déc 2011;30(6):807 11.
7. Bouillanne O, Melchior J-C, Faure C, Paul M, Canoui-Poitrine F, Boirie Y, et al. Effets d’une complémentation de 3 semaines par la citrulline sur la masse maigre chez des patients âgés dénutris. Nutr Clin Métab. mars 2016;30(1):59 60.