Study of a new formulation of functional food for dogs with chronic renal and cardiovascular diseases

L-arginine is an essential precursor for the production of nitric oxide (NO) which mediates the protective effects of the intact endothelium, acting as a vasodilator and endogenous antiatherogenic factor [...]. Furthermore, NO plays an important role in the regulation of the renal blood flow, glomerular filtration rate and saline homeostasis [...] The effects of arginine administration have been investigated in humans affected by cardiovascular diseases [...]. In hypertensive patients under pharmacological therapies, oral administration of arginine for six weeks resulted in a reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure [...] At the present time, there is a paucity of data about the role of L- arginine in chronic cardiovascular and kidney disease in dogs. On the basis of the current literature, the objective of this research was to assess the effectiveness of oral L-arginine (integrated feed) in dogs with chronic cardiovascular and kidney diseases by assessing some clinical and ematochemical parameters that are usually altered in animals affected by these chronic diseases