Beta-Alanine

Summary (The Good, The Bad, and all other Essential Benefits/Effects/Facts Information)

Beta-alanine is a modified version of the amino acid Alanine. Once ingested, it turns into the molecule carnosine which acts as a potent acid buffer in the body.

Carnosine is stored in body cells and released in response to drops in pH. Increasing body stores of carnosine can both protect against diet induced drops in pH (such as occurs from ketone production in ketosis) and from exercise induced lactic acid production.

Via buffering lactic acid, beta-alanine has been shown to enhance performance in muscular endurance. Many people note being able to perform one or two additional reps in the gym when training in sets of 8-15 repetitions. Moderate to high intensity cardiovascular events that stress the muscular system highly such as rowing or sprinting also see performance increases with beta-alanine, although it is less significant.

Beta-alanine is a well-researched compound with good reliability and validity. Many studies note beneficial but minor benefits on exercise performance.

Also Known As

Carnosine precursor

Do Not Confuse With

Alanine

Is a Form of

• Performance Enhancer
• Amino Acid Supplement

Goes Well With

• Creatine

How to Take (recommended dosage, active amounts, other details)

Doses of 2-5g are normally used and may result in paresthesia (face tingling).

Doses of 800mg have been shown to not cause paresthesia, and using this amount in doses divided by 3 hours is also effective.

Beta-alanine supplementation capacity increases with the amount of muscle mass and acidosis the body experiences. Doses up to 20-30g a day have been used before and are well tolerated outside of the parasthesia.

Things to Note

If an excess is taken acutely, harmless tingling (paresthesia) will result.

Frequently Asked Questions Related to Beta-Alanine

• What beneficial compounds are primarily found in animal products?

Caution Notice (just some FYI - if needed)

Tingling (paresthesia) may occur when an acute dose of beta-alanine is higher than the body is used to. Many people find this tingling odd and may think it dangerous, however it has not been linked to any side-effects or toxicities.

Detailed Summary

1. Carnosine in Foods
2. Pharmacology of Beta-Alanine
3. Intracellular Buffering
4. Effects In Vivo
5. Paresthesia

Edit1. Carnosine in Foods

Carnosine, the active metabolite of beta-alanine, is present in muscle tissue and thus is found primarily in meat products. Particularly high carnosine levels are found in the tissue of deep water species. It is thought that these deep sea animals maintain high carnosine levels to combat the state of metabolic acidosis induced from low oxygen levels in deep waters ^[1]. Levels of carnosine in the muscle tissues of animals directly relates to the metabolic acidosis stressors placed on that animal (with the highest levels being in horses, racing dogs, and the Balaenoptera acutorostrata whale), which suggests that farm-raised animal products may have lower levels of carnosine than wild animals ^[2].

Edit2. Pharmacology of Beta-Alanine

Beta-alanine is converted into Carnosine (Beta-alanyl-L-histidine) via the addition of a histidine amino acid group via the enzyme carnosine synthetase. Carnosine is a dipeptide found in high levels in skeletal muscle but also exists in the brain and cardiac muscle. Carnosine's most prominent role is that of acid base equilibrium maintenance, but it is also implicated in being neuroprotective, of potential use in treating autism^[3], protective against glycation^[4], anti-aging^[5], antioxidant^[6], and sensitizing contractile muscles to calcium.^[7]

Ingested Carnosine must be hydrolyzed into its substrate via the carnosinase enzyme before being taken up into the body which renders the difference between the two compounds moot aside from the delay in intestinal uptake with carnosine supplementation due to the requirement to wait for enzyme hydrolysis.^[8] Beta-alanine supplementation is highly effective in increasing muscle carnosine stores when orally ingested and makes for a quicker systemic uptake than does carnosine.^[9][10]

Beta-alanine is synthesized in the liver^[11] and transported to muscle cells to later synthesize carnosine inside the muscle cell, of which type II muscle fibers show a greater storage capacity than type I muscle fibers. Muscle cells lack the ability to take up carnosine directly^[12] and thus it must take up the two substrate. Of the two, beta-alanine availability is the rate-limiting step in carnosine synthesis in vivo.

Trained individuals show a greater potential capacity for carnosine in muscles when compared to sedentary individuals^[13] and experienced bodybuilders show twice the capacity of untrained individuals.^[14] These effects, however, may not be due to training. Although there have been some reports in increases of muscle carnosine content during short term resistance training^[15] most studies do not show acute changes in carnosine levels with training alone.^[16][17] The differences are either due to long term adaptations (possibly in hepatic beta-alanine synthesis), variations in food intake between the populations, or (in the case of bodybuilders) the confounding effects of testosterone on carnosine levels in muscles being positively correlated.^[18]

Edit3. Intracellular Buffering

Out of the various mechanisms of systemic buffering (including bicarbonate, phosphates, and proteins/amino acids) carnosine contributes to intracellular buffering due to its imidazole structure in its histidine residue.^[2] Large stores of histidine dipeptides can be stored in cells with no apparent adverse effects.

Similar to sodium bicarbonate loading, the effects of beta-alanine are not time-dependent and relies heavily on the concentration of the buffering agent prior to muscle contraction^[19]

Edit4. Effects In Vivo

Beta-alanine supplementation, when administered to strength athletes, does not seem to enhance 1 rep maximal strength nor isometric strength in isolation^[16][20] although it seems to be synergistic with Creatine supplementation.^[21]

Beta-alanine does appear to increase lactate threshold and time to volitional fatigue in humans^[22] and again shows synergism with creatine.^[23]

Beta-alanine shows the most promise in exercises which stress intracellular acidosis, or short term and high intensity (but not necessarily 1 rep maximal) exercise such as sprinting, rowing, and weight-lifting. Benefit has been shown in these activities with beta-alanine supplementation^{[9][24] [25]} although not in every scenario.^[26]

Additionally, beta-alanine can increase time to neuromuscular fatigue.^[22][27]

Although lactate (lactic acid) does not appear to inhibit muscular contraction per se, it is correlated. It is argued that this may be due to accumulation of H+ ions which may eventually inhibit muscle contraction and glycolysis.^[28] Many studies pinpoint that buffering acidity in vivo leads to subsequent increases in performance in short-term high-intensity exercise via either direct or indirect mechanisms.^[29]

Edit5. Paresthesia

Beta-alanine supplementation can cause paresthesia, which is a potentially uncomfortable but ultimately harmless tingling of skin; most commonly the face but also reported in the abdomen, chest, and extremities.

Paresthesia typically occurs when too great of a dose of beta-alanine is taken acutely. It can be avoided by taking multiple doses throughout the day in minimum intervals of 3 hours (based on the time to peak serum levels, compound half-life, and return to baseline) with a dosage below the amount that causes paresthesia (which has been suspected of being 800mg averaged, or 10mg/kg BW in sedentary individuals).^[19]

Controlled release capsules can eliminate the side-effect of paresthesia.^[30]

Scientific Support & Reference Citations

References

1. Miyaji K, et al. Characteristic metabolism of free amino acids in cetacean plasma: cluster analysis and comparison with mice. PLoS One. (2010)
2. Abe H. Role of histidine-related compounds as intracellular proton buffering constituents in vertebrate muscle. Biochemistry (Mosc). (2000)
3. Chez MG, et al. Double-blind, placebo-controlled study of L-carnosine supplementation in children with autistic spectrum disorders. J Child Neurol. (2002)
4. Hipkiss AR, Michaelis J, Syrris P. Non-enzymatic glycosylation of the dipeptide L-carnosine, a potential anti-protein-cross-linking agent. FEBS Lett. (1995)
5. Hipkiss AR. On the enigma of carnosine's anti-ageing actions. Exp Gerontol. (2009)
6. Boldyrev AA. Does carnosine possess direct antioxidant activity. Int J Biochem. (1993)
7. Dutka TL, Lamb GD. Effect of carnosine on excitation-contraction coupling in mechanically-skinned rat skeletal muscle. J Muscle Res Cell Motil. (2004)
8. Intestinal absorption of carnosine and its constituent amino acids in man
9. Beta alanine supplementation augments muscle carnosine content and attenuates during repeated isokinetic contraction bouts in trained sprinters
10. Hill CA, et al. Influence of beta-alanine supplementation on skeletal muscle carnosine concentrations and high intensity cycling capacity. Amino Acids. (2007)
11. Matthews MM, Traut TW. Regulation of N-carbamoyl-beta-alanine amidohydrolase, the terminal enzyme in pyrimidine catabolism, by ligand-induced change in polymerization. J Biol Chem. (1987)
12. Bauer K, Schulz M. Biosynthesis of carnosine and related peptides by skeletal muscle cells in primary culture. Eur J Biochem. (1994)
13. Buffering capacity of deproteinized human vastus lateralis muscle
14. Tallon MJ, et al. The carnosine content of vastus lateralis is elevated in resistance-trained bodybuilders. J Strength Cond Res. (2005)
15. The effect of sprint training on skeletal muscle Carnosine in humans
16. Kendrick IP, et al. The effects of 10 weeks of resistance training combined with beta-alanine supplementation on whole body strength, force production, muscular endurance and body composition. Amino Acids. (2008)
17. Mannion AF, Jakeman PM, Willan PL. Effects of isokinetic training of the knee extensors on high-intensity exercise performance and skeletal muscle buffering. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. (1994)
18. Peñafiel R, et al. Gender-related differences in carnosine, anserine and lysine content of murine skeletal muscle. Amino Acids. (2004)
19. Harris RC, et al. The absorption of orally supplied beta-alanine and its effect on muscle carnosine synthesis in human vastus lateralis. Amino Acids. (2006)
20. Hoffman J, et al. Beta-alanine and the hormonal response to exercise. Int J Sports Med. (2008)
21. Hoffman J, et al. Effect of creatine and beta-alanine supplementation on performance and endocrine responses in strength/power athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. (2006)
22. Stout JR, et al. Effects of beta-alanine supplementation on the onset of neuromuscular fatigue and ventilatory threshold in women. Amino Acids. (2007)
23. Zoeller RF, et al. Effects of 28 days of beta-alanine and creatine monohydrate supplementation on aerobic power, ventilatory and lactate thresholds, and time to exhaustion. Amino Acids. (2007)
24. Bishop D, Claudius B. Effects of induced metabolic alkalosis on prolonged intermittent-sprint performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. (2005)
25. Bishop D, et al. Induced metabolic alkalosis affects muscle metabolism and repeated-sprint ability. Med Sci Sports Exerc. (2004)
26. Effects of beta-alanine supplementation on performance and body composition in collegiate wrestlers and football players
27. Stout JR, et al. Effects of twenty-eight days of beta-alanine and creatine monohydrate supplementation on the physical working capacity at neuromuscular fatigue threshold. J Strength Cond Res. (2006)
28. Cellular mechanisms of muscle fatigue
29. Artioli GG, et al. Role of beta-alanine supplementation on muscle carnosine and exercise performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. (2010)
30. Changes in muscle carnosine of subjects with 4 weeks supplementation with a controlled release formulation of beta-alanine (CarnosynTM), and for 6 weeks post
31. Harris RC, Söderlund K, Hultman E. Elevation of creatine in resting and exercised muscle of normal subjects by creatine supplementation. Clin Sci (Lond). (1992)
32. Diet and Refsum's disease. The determination of phytanic acid and phytol in certain foods and the application of this knowledge to the choice of suitable convenience foods for patients with Refsum's disease
33. Rawson ES, et al. Creatine supplementation does not improve cognitive function in young adults. Physiol Behav. (2008)
34. Benton D, Donohoe R. The influence of creatine supplementation on the cognitive functioning of vegetarians and omnivores. Br J Nutr. (2011)
35. Phytanic acid: measurement of plasma concentrations by gas–liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis and associations with diet and other plasma fatty acids

Last Updated: Apr 2, 2012 12:23:59