Temporal patterns of increased growth hormone secretion in mice after oral administration of L-ornithine: possible involvement of ghrelin receptors.

l-Ornithine is known to stimulate growth hormone (GH) release in mammals. Here, we demonstrated that increases in plasma GH levels after oral administration of l-ornithine were first observed 150 min after administration, and the elevated levels were sustained for more than 90 min in mice. The increase was significantly delayed compared with the reported timing of plasma and tissue levels of l-ornithine after administration. The l-ornithine-induced increase in GH release was completely blocked by [D-Lys]-GHRP-6, a ghrelin receptor antagonist, but not by cyclosomatostatin or JV-1-38, antagonists of somatostatin and GH-releasing hormone, respectively. These results suggest the involvement of ghrelin receptor-mediated pathways in l-ornithine-induced increases in GH release.