l-ARGININE MONOHYDROCHLORIDE AS AN ACID-FORMING SALT

¹ Department of Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.

In dogs, the intravenous administration of 5 mEq. of l-arginine monohydrochloride per kgm. of body weight as a 1.0 molar solution caused a rapid decrease in the concentration of total CO₂ in the serum. The decrease tended to be greater when the amino acid salt was given slowly than when it was administered in one to four large doses, probably because high concentrations of arginine in the blood favor rapid renal excretion rather than conversion into urea.

In three of four dogs given the same dose orally a similar decrease in the total CO₂ of the serum was observed. How-ever, in the fourth animal the effect was delayed, suggesting poor absorption.

In contrast to ammonium chloride, l-arginine monohydrochloride produced no serious immediate or delayed toxic effects in normal or anesthetized dogs even when given intravenously as a single dose.