Chronic l-citrulline supplementation improves cardiac sympathovagal balance in obese postmenopausal women: A preliminary report

•l-citrulline supplementation reduced sympathovagal balance in obese older women.•Improved sympathovagal balance occurred with reductions in blood pressure.•L-citrulline supplementation may improve cardiac autonomic function.

The present study evaluated the impact of chronic l-citrulline (L-cit) supplementation on resting heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure (BP) in obese postmenopausal women. Participants were randomly assign to either an L-cit group (n = 12) or a control group (n = 11). HRV and BP were measured before and after 8 weeks. There were significant decreases (P < 0.05) in nLF (sympathetic activity), LnLF/LnHF (sympathovagal balance), and BP as well as a significant increase (P < 0.05) in nHF (vagal tone) following L-cit compared with no changes after control. Our findings indicate that L-cit supplementation improves sympathovagal balance in obese postmenopausal women.