β-Alanine

amino-acid · musculoskeletal · Oral

β-Alanine, an amino acid. β-amino acid (amino on β-carbon rather than α-carbon — not used in ribosomal protein synthesis). Rate-limiting… Oral half-life 0.7 h.

β-amino acid (amino on β-carbon rather than α-carbon — not used in ribosomal protein synthesis). Rate-limiting substrate for carnosine synthase in skeletal muscle (condensed with L-histidine → carnosine). Sustained supplementation raises muscle carnosine ~40–80%, increasing intramuscular pH buffering and modestly improving high-intensity exercise output in the 60 s–4 min domain. Mechanism of paresthesia side-effect: activation of MrgprD / TRPA1 sensory-neuron receptors — transient, dose-related, harmless, minimised by divided dosing or sustained-release formulation.

Pharmacokinetics

• Oral — t½ 42 min · F 70% · ka 1.8 h⁻¹

Related compounds

• Carnosine — synergistic
• Taurine — caution

Sources: PMID:28910200, PMID:23479117