Arginine and ornithine are two amino acids, the building blocks of proteins -- both the ones you eat and the ones your cells build for functional and structural purposes. There's only a small amount of evidence linking arginine -- and ornithine in an indirect way -- to growth.
Arginine
Arginine is one of the 20 "common" amino acids; these are the amino acids you consume in proteins you eat and that you use to build your own cellular proteins. Arginine is a nonessential amino acid, meaning you don't actually have to consume it -- you can make it from other things. As a result, provided you eat a balanced diet that includes plenty of healthy protein, you're not likely to be arginine deficient.
Ornithine
Ornithine is an amino acid, but it's not one of the "common" ones that your DNA codes for. Instead, explain Drs. Reginald Garrett and Charles Grisham in their book "Biochemistry," it's an amino acid that you make as you're in the process of converting arginine into urea -- essentially breaking arginine down for excretion. You can also make arginine from urea. You do not consume ornithine in foods under normal circumstances.
Growth
There's some evidence linking arginine to release of growth hormone, explains Dr. J. Alba-Roth and colleagues in a 1988 article in the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism." While subjects supplemented with arginine did experience an increase in growth hormone release, which could theoretically cause growth, it's important to note that the same subjects also received doses of growth hormone releasing hormone, which you can't buy in supplemental form.
General Guidelines
Because research hasn't directly linked arginine alone to growth, there's not adequate evidence to say with any assurance that taking arginine will help you grow. Further, because you make ornithine from arginine, there's no reason to take ornithine as a supplement. Short of medical interventions that alter your hormone levels, there's no surefire way to make yourself grow taller. If you're still growing, time will help, and if you've stopped growing, there's no real way to start the process up again.
References
- "Biochemistry"; Reginald Garrett, Ph.D. and Charles Grisham, Ph.D.; 2007
- "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism"; Arginine stimulates growth hormone secretion by suppressing endogenous somatostatin secretion; J Alba-Roth et al; 1998
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