[beta]-Alanine Supplementation

[Guest guest]

The below may be of interest:

Role of [beta]-Alanine Supplementation on Muscle Carnosine and Exercise

Performance

ARTIOLI, GUILHERME GIANNINI; GUALANO, BRUNO; SMITH, ABBIE; STOUT, JEFFREY;

LANCHA, ANTONIO HERBERT JR

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise:

June 2010 - Volume 42 - Issue 6 - pp 1162-1173

doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181c74e38

Applied Sciences

Abstract

In this narrative review, we present and discuss the current knowledge available

on carnosine and ¦Â-alanine metabolism as well as the effects of ¦Â-alanine

supplementation on exercise performance. Intramuscular acidosis has been

attributed to be one of the main causes of fatigue during intense exercise.

Carnosine has been shown to play a significant role in muscle pH regulation.

Carnosine is synthesized in skeletal muscle from the amino acids l-histidine and

¦Â-alanine.

The rate-limiting factor of carnosine synthesis is ¦Â-alanine availability.

Supplementation with ¦Â-alanine has been shown to increase muscle carnosine

content and therefore total muscle buffer capacity, with the potential to elicit

improvements in physical performance during high-intensity exercise. Studies on

¦Â-alanine supplementation and exercise performance have demonstrated

improvements in performance during multiple bouts of high-intensity exercise and

in single bouts of exercise lasting more than 60 s. Similarly, ¦Â-alanine

supplementation has been shown to delay the onset of neuromuscular fatigue.

Although ¦Â-alanine does not improve maximal strength or V¨BO2max, some aspects

of endurance performance, such as anaerobic threshold and time to exhaustion,

can be enhanced. Symptoms of paresthesia may be observed if a single dose higher

than 800 mg is ingested. The symptoms, however, are transient and related to the

increase in plasma concentration. They can be prevented by using controlled

release capsules and smaller dosing strategies. No important side effect was

related to the use of this amino acid so far.

In conclusion, ¦Â-alanine supplementation seems to be a safe nutritional

strategy capable of improving high-intensity anaerobic performance.

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Carruthers

Wakefield, UK