Physiology and pathophysiology of carnosine
ReviewHumansOther animals
- Design
- Review
- Subjects
- not stated in abstract
- Dose used in the study
- not stated in abstract
- Duration
- not stated in abstract
- What was measured
- Narrative review of about a century of carnosine research: biochemical properties, tissue distribution, carnosinase, and preclinical and clinical findings.
What the authors reported
The authors describe carnosine as a dipeptide found in skeletal muscle and other excitable tissues, with methylated relatives (anserine, ophidine/balenine) in most animals other than humans. They attribute its physiological roles to pH buffering, metal-ion chelation, antioxidant activity and protection against advanced glycation and lipoxidation end-products. They report that preclinical and clinical studies in diabetes and its complications, eye disease, ageing and neurological disorders have shown promising results. They conclude that the L-histidine imidazole ring appears to be the main active component, while beta-alanine mainly governs carnosine synthesis, and they call for much more experimental work.
Limits of this study
Narrative review; the authors state that far more experimental work is needed to understand the molecule's functions and uses.
Source
PubMed 24137022 · doi:10.1152/physrev.00039.2012
Entry checked against abstract (University of Milan repository record, AIR) on 2026-10-11. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.