What is nitric oxide in the human body?

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WHAT IS NITRIC OXIDE IN THE HUMAN BODY?

With help from the book - Don't Just Survive The Crisis, Become Healthy And Wealthy Too by Leroy A. Brown, we are going to help you understand what is nitric oxide in the human body.

Nitric oxide is a compound in the body that helps the blood vessels to widen, and release hormones such as insulin and human growth hormone.

Nitric oxide is produced by many cells in the human body, and is considered very important for blood vessels.

Nitric oxide helps to widen the blood vessel because is a vasodilator.

As a vasodilator, nitric oxide relaxes the inner muscles of the blood vessels so allowing them to widen.

This widening of the blood vessels caused by nitric oxide helps to increase blood flow and lower blood pressure.

The chemical formula for nitric oxide is NO, and it is a colorless gas, and is a principal oxide of nitrogen.

Oxides of nitrogen are gases that have nitrogen and oxygen in them.

Nitric oxide has nitrogen and oxygen, so it is an oxide of nitrogen and one of the main ones.

Other oxides of nitrogen are Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrogen trioxide (NO3), Nitrous oxide (N2O), and so on.

Nitric oxide is also a free radical, which means it is a molecule or atom that has a single unpaired electron in its outer shell.

This single unpaired electron can make nitric oxide reactive.

Do not confuse nitric oxide with nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which is a brown gas that is associated with air pollution.

While nitric oxide is produced in the body and has benefits for humans, nitrogen dioxide if it gets into the body usually as a result of air pollution, can have harmful effects such as causing the lung not to function properly, among other things.

HOW IS NITRIC OXIDE PRODUCED IN THE HUMAN BODY?

Nitric oxide is made in the human body from two (2) main ways:

1. The amino acid L-arginine by the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS)

2.  Inorganic nitrates in green leafy vegetables, fruits, cereals, and cured meat

L-arginine (other names are 2-Amino-5-(diaminomethylidene amino) pentanoic acid, 2-Amino-5-guanidinopentanoic Acid, etc.) is an amino acid that is needed for making protein.

WHAT IS THE ENDOTHELIUM?

Nitric oxide is produced specifically in the endothelium.

The endothelium is single layer of endothelial cells which has the inner cellular lining of blood vessels (eg. capillaries, veins, and arteries), and the lymphatic system.

This indicates that the endothelium is connected to the blood vessels, lymphatic system, and blood circulation.

The functions of endothelium are:

1. Control of blood flow

2. Helps control platelets clumping together

3. Assists in blood vessel constriction

4. Helps to regulate the immune system

5. Assists in controlling inflammation

6. Participates in making new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels (angiogenesis)

7. Takes part in changing substances into forms that the body can use (metabolism)

8. Takes part in the release of hormones into the bloodstream (endocrine system)

Because nitric oxide is made in the endothelium, it is released whenever it becomes sensitive.

This sensitivity occurs during physical and chemical conditions such as exercise and low cholesterol respectively inside blood vessels.

The releasing of nitric oxide expands the blood vessels, so increasing blood flow, and reducing blood clot and plaque. 

Blood clot is basically the blood changing from a liquid to a gel or semisolid state.

Plaque is comprised of fat, cholesterol, and other substances in the blood.

WHAT DOES NITRIC OXIDE DO IN THE HUMAN BODY?

Some of the known functions of nitric oxide are:

1. Helps to control platelets clumping in the blood vessels, so aiding in the prevention of thrombosis (formation of blood clot)

2. Helps to facilitate penile erection during sexual arousal

3. Assists in dilating pulmonary vessels (i.e. channels that take blood from the heart to the lungs and back)

4. Helps to control the relaxation of smooth muscles in the gastrointestinal tract (i.e. organs from the mouth to anus which are mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus)

5. Regulates blood flow to the kidney

6. Participates in controlling T Cell (also called T lymphocytes) immune response.

T cells immune response involves T cells directly getting rid of infected host cells in the human body, while helping other immune cells to start working, and assisting in making cytokines.

 Cytokines are groups of proteins, peptides or glycoproteins which are secreted by cells in the immune system.

Cytokines take part in signaling, facilitating, and regulating immunity, inflammation and hematopoiesis (the making of blood cells).

IN WHAT FORM DOES NITRIC OXIDE STAY IN THE HUMAN BODY?

Nitric oxide does not stay in its free form in the body due to its unstable nature. As such, it reacts with other molecules to form more stable products.

For example, in the blood, nitric oxide has a short life span. So it quickly oxidizes (loses electron(s)) to become nitrite. It may oxidize further with oxyhaemoglobin to make nitrate.

Nitric oxide may also react with oxyhaemoglobin to produce methhaemoglobin and nitrate.

Oxyhaemoglobin is the bright red compound in oxygenated blood. It is formed when haemoglobin combines with oxygen.

Haemoglobin is a protein that transports oxygen in the red blood cells across the human body.

 Another example is, nitric oxide reacts with cysteine residues in protein to make nitrosylated compounds.

 WHAT HAPPENS IF THE HUMAN BODY IS DEFICIENT IN NITRIC OXIDE?

 If the human body is deficient in nitric oxide, it may help to cause:

1. High blood pressure

2. Heart disease

3. Kidney disease

Etc.

 WHAT HAPPENS IF THE HUMAN BODY HAS TOO MUCH NITRIC OXIDE?

 If the human body has too much nitric oxide, it may help to cause:

1. Migraine

2. Parkinson disease

Etc.