Is Beta-Alanine for you?
Mark-Anthony Bailey, CSCS

The purpose of this article is to explore the effectiveness of beta-alanine as an ergogenic aid for the enhancement of athlete performance. By examining several scientific research studies, this article will help to determine the effectiveness, dosage range, possible side effects, and potential practical applications for beta-alanine in the realm of enhancement athletic performance.


What is Beta-Alanine?

Beta-alanine is naturally occurring beta amino acid, which are amino acids in which the amino group is at the ?-position from the carboxylate group. Beta-Alanine is naturally occurs in nutritional food sources as such chicken and is found in skeletal muscle tissue is low amounts and serves as the rate-limiting step in carnosine synthesis (Dunnett, M. and Harris, R.C, 1999). Carnosine is a histidine dipeptide that is synthesized in human skeletal muscle and has been shown to enhance muscle buffering capacity during high-intensity exercise (Mannion, Jakeman, Dunnett, Harris and Willan 1992). Carnonsine is found primarily in large amounts within fast twitch skeletal muscle and contributes to buffering of H+, thus attenuating a drop in pH associated with anaerobic metabolism (Stout, J.R. 2005). Carnosine has a pKa value of 6.83, which allows it to function effectively as an intramuscular H1 buffer over the physiological pH range (Tallon, M.J., Harris R.C., Boobis, L.H., Fallowfield J.L., Wise J.A. 2005). Unfortunately, carnosine is not absorbed effectively by the body and immediately undergoes hydrolysis in the digestive tract, thus limiting the effectiveness of uptake into the muscle cells intact. In fact, carnosine is broken down into histidine and beta-alanine which is then taken up by skeletal muscle and synthesized into carnosine (Stout, J.R. 2005). Oral supplementation of carnosine would be ineffective as studies on ingestion of carnosine (Suzuki,Y, Nakao, T, Maemura, H, Sato, M, Kamahara, K, Morimatsu, F, Takamatsu, K 2006) showed an increase in the contribution of the nonbicarbonate buffering action and a decrease in bicarbonate buffering action in blood, but intense intermittent exercise performance did not improve significantly.


Theory of Beta-Alanine Supplementation

The theory of beta-alanine supplementation is by increasing muscle carnosine levels; the body should increase buffering capacity, delay fatigue and increase exercise performance (Stout, J.R. 2005). High-intensity anaerobic exercise leads to reductions in muscle substrates (ATP, PCr, and glycogen) and a subsequent accumulation of metabolites (ADP, Pi, H+, and M2+) with a possible increase in free radical production (Begum G., Cunliffe, A., Leveritt M., 2005). In a more acidic environment ATP is less effective and the release of calcium, a key component to muscle contraction, is hindered substantially. These combinations of factors severely limit muscular contraction and result in neuromuscular fatigue. The athlete is forced to either decrease the intensity of the exercise or cease the activity altogether. This early cessation of anaerobic muscle activity may limit training capacity and athletic performance; particularly in short term, high intensity activities such as sprinting or weight-training. The theory of beta-alanine supplementation supports the understanding that an athlete who is able to resist fatigue while maintaining a high muscle force output will optimize the overall execution of the physical activity.

Research has be conducted on the effects of beta-alanine supplementation on muscle carnosine levels and exercise performance in untrained subjects (Hill, C.A., Harris, R.C., kim, H.J., Boobis, L., Sale, C., Wise, J.A. 2005). This study found an increase in muscle carnosine levels of 58% at the end of 4 weeks of supplementation. This study used the dosing protocol of 4.0 grams during the first week and 6.4 grams of beta-alanine the additional week there after. At week 10 of the study, tests showed an additional increase of 15% in muscle carnosine. The study measured exercise performance using a protocol of cycling to exhaustion at 110% of the estimated power maximum. A 16% in total work done during the cycle ergometry was found within the 20 untrained male subjects. It should be noted that increased carnosine levels in skeletal muscle tissue has also been demonstrated in athletes that perform high intensity anaerobic training such as sprinters and bodybuilders have carnosine concentrations in athletes such as sprinters appear to be significantly higher than those of marathoners, untrained individuals, and the elderly (Stout, J.R. 2005) (Tallon, M.J., Harris, R.C., Boobis, L.H., Fallowfield, J.L. and Wise, J.A. (2005). In the Tallon et al., 2005 study Extracts of biopsies of vastus lateralis of 6 national-level competitive bodybuilders and 6 age-matched untrained but moderately active healthy subjects were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Muscle carnosine in bodybuilders was twice that in controls. The carnosine contents measured are the highest recorded in human muscle and represent a 20% contribution to muscle buffering capacity (Tallon et al., 2005). These findings indicate that resistance training may increase the muscle content of carnosine, increasing its contribution to intracellular pH regulation. Unfortunately, training can only augment carnosine levels to a fixed level but can be further enhanced by supplementation of oral beta-alanine (Stout, J.R. 2005). This potential of beta-alanine to enhance carnosine levels beyond those attained through intense anaerobic training is extremely appealing as an ergogenic aid, especially to highly trained athletes.

Recent studies (Stout, J. R., Cramer, J. T., Zoeller, R. F., Torok, D., Costa, P., Hoffman, J. R., Harris, R. C., O'Kroy, J. 2007) have also demonstrated beta-alanine as a possible ergogenic aid for endurance athletes as well. The Stout, J.R. et al., 2007 study sampled twenty-two women (age +/- SD 27.4 +/- 6.1 yrs) who were randomly assigned to either the beta-alanine or placebo group. These participants performed a continuous, incremental cycle ergometry test to exhaustion to determine the (PWCFT), ventilatory threshold (VT), maximal oxygen consumption (VO2-MAX), and time-to-exhaustion (TTE) both before and after beta-alanine supplementation. Results of this study indicate that beta-alanine supplementation delays the onset of neuromuscular fatigue (PWCFT) and the ventilatory threshold (VT) at submaximal workloads, and increase in TTE during maximal cycle ergometry performance. However, beta-alanine supplementation did not affect maximal aerobic power (VO2-MAX). Ventilatory threshold is the point where during exercise increased levels of lactic acid result in an increased CO2 production and minute ventilation. It is at this point metabolism becomes anaerobic, thereby decreasing energy production and increasing muscle fatigue. By increasing ventilatory threshold it is possible for the endurance athlete to maintain a high level of intensity for longer periods of time during endurance activities thus increasing the potential for improved athlete performance.

Studies have also been conducted to determine the effect of beta-alanine and creatine supplementation together. Creatine monohydrate has been a widely tested supplement that has shown to improve athletic performance in short term anaerobic activities such as sprinting and resistance training. It increases phosphocreatine (PCr) levels within the muscle tissue and enhances the levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which in turn allows for extended periods of high intensity muscle contraction such as those used in sprinting performance. Creatine plus beta-alanine supplementation studies (Hoffman, J., Ratamess, N., Kang, J., Mangine, G., Faigenbaum, A., Stout, J. 2006) demonstrated that this combination resulted in significant changes in lean body mass, body fat percentages, and strength when compared to a creatine only or placebo groups. This was a 10 week study using 33 collegiate football players as test subjects. Results of this study demonstrate the efficacy of creatine and creatine plus beta-alanine on strength performance. One-rep maximum, the strength measure, climbed significantly higher in both the supplemented groups. In the bench press, the athletes taking only creatine increased their one-rep max by an average of over 30 pounds while the creatine plus beta-alanine group saw it rise by roughly 25 pounds. The placebo group experienced a 12 pound increase. Increases in one-rep squat maximum were similar. Both supplemented groups experienced significant gains: 50 pounds for the creatine plus beta-alanine group and 47.72 pounds for the creatine only group. For comparison, the placebo group increased their performance by 10 pounds.

Practical Applications of Beta-Alanine

We can conclude from the preceding studies that beta-alanine might be an extremely versatile supplement with possible ergogenic applications for a variety of different athletes. Beta-alanine may increase work capacity, muscular strength, muscular endurance and ventilatory threshold. As a result of these augmentations, increases in the effects of training such as muscular power, muscle hypertrophy, decreased body fat and improved athletic performance may be possible using beta-alanine supplementation. It should be noted that beta-alanine itself does not cause these positive effects, but it allows the athlete to perform at higher levels of intensity for longer periods of time thus exposing the body to new training stimuli and further increasing physiological adaptations to physical training.

Strength and power athletes such as weightlifters, sprinters and bodybuilders could particularly benefit from the buffering effect of beta-alanine, especially since their naturally occurring carnosine levels have potential reached the upper limits as an effect of consistent intense training. Resistance training continues to grow in popularity both as a training method for the enhancement of athletic performance and a recreational activity for personal fitness. Recreational athletes may benefit as well by increasing carnosine levels at a great rate than with intense training alone. The preceding studies also show that by combining beta-alanine and creatine monohydrate, athletes can further increase the effects of training versus using the supplements on an individual basis.

The increase in ventilatory threshold could be extremely beneficial for endurance athletes such as speed cyclists and middle distance runners. These type of athletes perform their activities for an extend period of time (>2 minutes) where ventilatory threshold levels play a large role in limiting intensity levels. The strength and power enhances could also improve their power generation and make them a more productive and more efficient athlete.

Beta-alanine use as an ergogenic aid is fairly new, thus the long-term effects, both positive and negative, have not been studied. It can be theorized that since beta-alanine and the resulting carnosine are both naturally occurring substances in the human body and the fact that carnosine levels can be elevated through training that supplementation of this amino acid is safe. Some users have reported a slight flushing/tingling effect with high doses (at or greater than 1.6 grams) called paraesthesia This is resolved by taking 4 to 8 smaller doses several times a day.

Optimal dosage ranges from 3.2 grams to 6.4 grams per day. This dosage range appears to elevate muscle carnosine levels and enhance exercise performance in untrained subjects (Stout, J.R. 2005). It can be theorized that highly trained athletes may need larger dosages to achieve significant carnosine enhancements as they already have augmented carnosine levels due to the effects of training. Other dosage protocols also suggest a loading phase, similar to those used for supplementing creatine monohydrate, in order to attain a saturated level of beta-alanine within the muscle tissue and then is followed by a lower dosage used to maintain this elevated level. Further research is needed to validate the long term safety and optimal dosage protocols for beta-alanine supplementation. Give them a try and let us know your experience at our forum.

References:


Begum G., Cunliffe, A., Leveritt M. (2005). Physiological role of carnosine in contracting muscle. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. Volume 15(5): 493-514.

Dunnett, M. and Harris, R.C. (1999) Influence of oral beta-alanine and L-histidine supplementation on the carnosine content of the gluteus medius, Equine Vet J Suppl 30. 499–504.

Hill, C.A., Harris, R.C., Kim, H.J., Boobis, L., Sale, C., Wise, J.A. (2005). The Effects of Beta-alanine and Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation on Muscle Composition and Exercise Performance. American College of Sports Medicine Annual Conference. Nashville, 2005.

Hoffman, J., Ratamess, N., Kang, J., Mangine, G., Faigenbaum, A., Stout, J. (2006). Effect of creatine and beta-alanine supplementation on performace and endocrine responses in strength/power athletes. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 16(4), 430-446.

Mannion, A.F., Jakeman, P.M., Dunnett, M., Harris, R.C. and Willan, P.L. Carnosine and anserine concentrations in the quadriceps femoris muscle in healthy humans. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 64, pp. 47–50.

Stout, J.R. (2005). Beta-Alanine: The New Kid on the Ergogenic Block. Strength and Conditioning Journal- National Strength and Conditioning Association. Volume 27 (6): 90-91.

Stout, J. R., Cramer, J. T., Zoeller, R. F., Torok, D., Costa, P., Hoffman, J. R., Harris, R. C., O'Kroy, J. (2007). Effects of beta-alanine supplementation on the onset of neuromuscular fatigue and ventilatory threshold in women. Amino Acids, 32(3), 381-386.

Suzuki,Y, Nakao, T, Maemura, H, Sato, M, Kamahara, K, Morimatsu, F, Takamatsu, K (2006). Carnosine and Anserine Ingestion Enhances Contribution of Nonbicarbonate Buffering. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 38(2), 334-338.

Tallon, M.J., Harris R.C., Boobis, L.H., Fallowfield J.L., Wise J.A. (2005). The Carnosine Content of Vastus Lateralis is Elevated in Resistance-trained Bodybuilders. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 18(4), 725-729.


Mark-Anthony Bailey is the Editor-in-Chief of MostMuscle.com. As an Exercise Physiologist and competitive natural bodybuilder, his goals have been to ensure that his clients get the latest information on training techniques, nutritional guidelines and lifestyle modifications needed to obtain optimal health. He can be contacted at: markanthony@mostmuscle.com