Editing Arginine (section)

===Dietary sources===
Arginine is classified as a semiessential or conditionally [[essential amino acid]], depending on the developmental stage and health status of the individual.<ref name="tapiero">{{cite journal |vauthors=Tapiero H, Mathé G, Couvreur P, Tew KD | title = L-Arginine | journal = Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy | date = November 2002 | volume = 56 | issue = 9 | pages = 439–445 | doi = 10.1016/s0753-3322(02)00284-6 | pmid = 12481980 | department = (review) }}</ref> Preterm infants are unable to synthesize arginine internally, making the amino acid nutritionally essential for them.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Wu G, Jaeger LA, Bazer FW, Rhoads JM | title = Arginine deficiency in preterm infants: biochemical mechanisms and nutritional implications | journal = The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry | volume = 15 | issue = 8 | pages = 442–51 | date = August 2004 | pmid = 15302078 | doi = 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2003.11.010 | department = (review) | doi-access = free }}</ref> Most healthy people do not need to supplement with arginine because it is a component of all protein-containing foods<ref name=mayo>{{cite web|title=Drugs and Supplements Arginine|website=[[Mayo Clinic]]|url=http://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/arginine/background/hrb-20058733|access-date=15 January 2015}}</ref> and can be synthesized in the body from [[glutamine]] via [[citrulline]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3qexy5Se3SoC&pg=PA76|title=Dietitian's Handbook of Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition| vauthors = Skipper A |date=1998|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|isbn=978-0-8342-0920-6|pages=76|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1nRbFrSil40C&pg=PA48|title=Enteral Nutrition| vauthors = Borlase BC |date=1994|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|isbn=978-0-412-98471-6|pages=48|language=en}}</ref> Additional, dietary arginine is necessary for otherwise healthy individuals temporarily under physiological stress, for example during recovery from burns, injury or sepsis,<ref name=":1" /> or if either of the major sites of arginine biosynthesis, the [[small intestine]] and [[kidney]]s, have reduced function, because the small bowel does the first step of the synthesizing process and the kidneys do the second.<ref name=":0" />

Arginine is an essential amino acid for birds, as they do not have a [[urea cycle]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dFb7AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA45|title=A Biochemical Approach to Nutrition| vauthors = Freedland RA, Briggs S |date=2012-12-06|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9789400957329|pages=45|language=en}}</ref> For some carnivores, for example cats, dogs<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LWC6PChg9ZEC&pg=PA65|title=Nutrient Requirements of Dogs |date=1985|publisher=National Academies Press|isbn=978-0-309-03496-8|pages=65|language=en}}</ref> and ferrets, arginine is essential,<ref name=":0" /> because after a meal, their highly efficient [[protein catabolism]] produces large quantities of [[ammonia]] which need <!-- quantities is plural -->to be processed through the urea cycle, and if not enough arginine is present, the resulting ammonia toxicity can be lethal.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mh7yCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA232|title=Nutrition and Disease Management for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses| vauthors = Wortinger A, Burns K |date=2015-06-11|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-118-81108-5|pages=232|language=en}}</ref> This is not a problem in practice, because meat contains sufficient arginine to avoid this situation.<ref name=":2" />

Animal sources of arginine include meat, dairy products, and eggs,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p_YtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA240|title=Nutrition for Sport, Exercise, and Health| vauthors = Spano MA, Kruskall LJ, Thomas DT | name-list-style = vanc |date=2017-08-30|publisher=Human Kinetics|isbn=978-1-4504-1487-6|pages=240|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kzKqMAkJw3UC&pg=PA75|title=Bioactive Dietary Factors and Plant Extracts in Dermatology| vauthors = Watson RR, Zibadi S |date=2012-11-28|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-62703-167-7|pages=75|language=en}}</ref> and plant sources include seeds of all types, for example grains, beans, and nuts.<ref name=":3" />