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The Carnosine Connection

Taking supplemental beta-alanine can boost the body’s carnosine production, which can be helpful during training, according to a study in the November 2007 Journal of Applied Physiology. Specifically, the study showed that male athletes who took beta-alanine had significant increases in carnosine concentrations in their lower leg muscles. The athletes also experienced less fatigue during dynamic and repeated maximal leg-extension exercises.

Beta-alanine is what’s known as a “rate-limiting precursor” of carnosine — it combines with another amino acid, histidine, in the body to form carnosine, but it is the beta-alanine that limits this reaction, according to the lead author of the study, Wim Derave, Ph.D., Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

The reason a boost in muscle carnosine helps athletes is “still a matter of debate,” Derave says. “Some researchers believe that the main effect is the pH-buffering. Carnosine can probably make your muscle less acidic. Because acidosis is believed to contribute to fatigue, high carnosine concentrations can protect the muscle from extreme acidity and allow [the athlete] to exercise longer at high intensity,” he says.

Another theory is that carnosine interferes with calcium and acts as an antioxidant, Derave adds. “In my view, it is probably a bit of both, but we need more research to find out,” he concludes.

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