Carnosine loading and washout in human skeletal muscles
Randomised controlled trialHumansWith beta-alanine (carnosine precursor)
This study tested carnosine together with beta-alanine (carnosine precursor). Its results cannot be assigned to carnosine alone. More combination studies.
- Design
- Randomised controlled trial
- Subjects
- 15 untrained men
- Dose used in the study
- 4.8 g beta-alanine per day
- Duration
- 5 to 6 weeks of supplementation, then 9 weeks of washout
- What was measured
- Muscle carnosine in soleus, tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, before and after supplementation and at 3 and 9 weeks of washout.
What the authors reported
Beta-alanine raised muscle carnosine by 39% (soleus), 27% (tibialis anterior) and 23% (gastrocnemius). After stopping, carnosine fell by 2 to 4% per week and group averages returned to baseline within 9 weeks. High responders (+55%) needed about 15 weeks of washout; low responders (+15%) about 6 weeks. Placebo values varied by 9 to 15% over 3 months.
Limits of this study
Small study (15 participants); numbers per group not given in the abstract. Non-invasive spectroscopy rather than biopsy. Untrained men only. Full text not read.
Source
PubMed 19131472 · doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.91357.2008
Entry checked against PubMed abstract (E-utilities) on 2026-10-19. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.