Difference Between L Arginine and Nitric Oxide

The key difference between L arginine and nitric oxide is that the L arginine is an amino acid that occurs as white crystals whereas the nitric oxide is a simple inorganic compound that occurs as a colorless gas.

L arginine is an important building block for the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an alpha amino group along with an alpha carboxylic group. Moreover, it contains a side chain (having 3 carbon atoms in an aliphatic straight chain) with a guanidine group. Nitric oxide, on the other hand, is a simple inorganic compound that has the chemical formula NO. This means it contains only one nitrogen atom that binds with an oxygen atom. It is an important component in the chemical industry.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is L Arginine
3. What is Nitric Oxide
4. Side by Side Comparison – L Arginine vs Nitric Oxide in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is L Arginine?

L arginine is an important amino acid that is useful to biosynthesize proteins. It has the chemical formula C₆H₁₄N₄O₂ and has an alpha amino group, an alpha carboxylic group along with a side chain (having 3 carbon atoms in an aliphatic straight chain) that ends with a guanidine group. The molar mass of the compound is 174.2 g/mol. Its melting point is 260 °C, and the boiling point is 368 °C.

More importantly, it occurs as white crystals, and it is odorless. The sources of this amino acid include meat, dairy products, and eggs as animal sources. The plant sources are seeds of all types such as grains, beans and nuts. More importantly, L arginine converts into nitric oxide in our body. It causes blood vessels to open wider for improved blood flow.

What is Nitric Oxide?

Nitric oxide is an inorganic compound that occurs as a colorless gas. Its chemical formula is NO. This means it contains only one nitrogen atom that binds with an oxygen atom. Since it has only one oxygen atom, we can call it “nitrogen monoxide” as well. This molecule has a linear shape since it is diatomic. It exists as a free radical because it has one unpaired electron on the nitrogen atom.

The molar mass is 30 g/mol. The melting point is −164 °C, and the boiling point is −152 °C. This molecule has a very important biological role; it is a gaseous signalling molecule, hence, a key vertebrate biological messenger. This compound forms in a biosynthetic pathway from L arginine.

Difference Between L Arginine and Nitric Oxide?

L arginine is an important amino acid that occurs as a white crystalis useful to biosynthesize proteins. Nitric oxide is an inorganic compound that occurs as a colorless gas. The chemical formula of L arginine is C₆H₁₄N₄O₂ while the chemical formula of nitric oxide is NO. Furthermore, L arginine is an important building block for proteins whereas nitric oxide is an important gaseous signalling molecule. More details on the difference between L Arginine and Nitric Oxide are below,

Summary – L Arginine vs Nitric Oxide

Both L arginine and nitric oxide are very important due to their biological role. The difference between L arginine and nitric oxide is that the L arginine is an amino acid that occurs as white crystals whereas the nitric oxide is a simple inorganic compound that occurs as a colorless gas.

Reference:

1. “L-Arginine: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Dosage, and Warning.” WebMD, WebMD. Available here 
2. “Nitric Oxide.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 July 2018. Available here 

Image Courtesy:

1.’L-arginine’By No machine-readable author provided. (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia  
2.’Nitric oxide’By Yikrazuul – Own work, (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia