β-Alanine dose for maintaining moderately elevated muscle carnosine levels

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Nutritional Science
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Chronic beta-alanine (BA) supplementation is popular for increasing muscle carnosine and enhancing high-intensity exercise performance.
• Investigated the influence of sex and body mass on BA-induced muscle carnosine loading.
• Determined the optimal maintenance dose for sustained elevated muscle carnosine levels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine if sex and body mass influence muscle carnosine loading from beta-alanine supplementation.
• To identify the optimal daily maintenance dose of beta-alanine for sustained elevated muscle carnosine levels.

Main Methods:

• 34 participants underwent a 46-day loading phase with 3.2 g/day of beta-alanine.
• 19 participants entered a six-week maintenance phase with daily doses of 0.4, 0.8, or 1.2 g of beta-alanine.
• Muscle carnosine content was measured using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles.

Main Results:

• Sex and body mass had minimal impact on the absolute increase in muscle carnosine.
• Women showed a higher relative increase in muscle carnosine due to lower baseline values.
• A maintenance dose of approximately 1.2 g/day was most effective in maintaining elevated muscle carnosine levels.

Conclusions:

• Sex and body mass are determinants of the relative, but not absolute, increase in muscle carnosine.
• An effective maintenance dose of approximately 1.2 g/day of beta-alanine was established to keep muscle carnosine elevated (30%-50% above baseline) long-term.