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Written by Robbie Durand
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Tuesday, 10 February 2009 |
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Page 3 of 5
Nitric Oxide And Adrenaline Increases Adipose Tissue Blood Flow
Increasing ATBF may have importance in the extraction of triglycerides (TGs) from adipose tissue and increased fat mobilization. Increasing adrenaline with caffeine and thermogenic supplements increases adrenergic stimulation of fat cells, which also increases fat mobilization and ATBF.18 Nitric Oxide (NO) increases blood flow to muscles and is also a major vasodilator in adipose tissue.19 NO, a signaling molecule that regulates nutrient metabolism, is produced from the amino acid L-arginine. It has been found that dietary supplementation with L-arginine reduces fat mass and enhances expression of key genes responsible for glucose uptake in muscle, increased insulin sensitivity, and increased fat oxidation.26,27,28,29
In a recent study in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, the use L-arginine (8.3 grams per day) for 21 days combined with diet and exercise in obese subjects resulted in a two-fold greater reduction in waist circumference compared with those just using diet and exercise.31 Additionally, the L-arginine group lost 100 percent fat and retained all their muscle mass, while the group using just diet and exercise lost both muscle and fat. Using a NO supplement may be useful for enhancing fat oxidation by opening up blood vessels to adipose tissue and increasing fat mobilization.
It seems that fasting ATBF is primarily under NO tone and to some extent under adrenergic control. After meal consumption, there is an increase in ATBF to fat cells, which are controlled principally by the adrenergic system. The level from which this enhancement takes place is strongly influenced by the NO tone.20 NO is present in virtually all cells and plays an important role in fat metabolism.24 Leptin, which is secreted from adipose tissue, is a powerful mediator of fat oxidation. Leptin-induced fat mobilization directly increases NO production in adipose tissue. When NO is blocked pharmacologically, the powerful stimulatory fat-mobilizing effects of leptin are reduced.27 These findings suggest that NO is an important regulator of fat mobilization by enhancing the actions of leptin. It has also been proven that if NO synthesis is blocked by drugs that inhibit NO production, it causes increased body fat mass.25 Reducing blood supply to adipose tissue limits the amount of fat that can be mobilized out of fat cells. For example, administration of drugs that cause vasoconstriction of adipose tissue blood supply results in inhibited fat mobilization.20 If you are taking a thermogenic supplement, it should contain a yohimbine extract, as yohimbine causes vasodilation in adipose tissue and enhanced ATBF. NO not only increases fat oxidation by allowing greater blood flow, but also increases fat oxidation by other mechanisms.
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Research and Review 
