Beta Alanine Manufacturer and Supplier

What is Beta-Alanine?

Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid that classified as a non-proteinogenic amino acid, which means it is not involved in protein synthesis and thus does not naturally occur in proteins as a single amino acid¹. By contrast, beta-alanine normally occurs in protein as part of a dipeptide called, carnisine. Carnosine is made up of the two amino acids, beta-alanine and histidine. However, beta-alanine is considered the rate-limiting amino acid for synthesis of carnosine¹. This means that the availability of beta-alanine, as opposed to histidine, is the primary factor determining synthesis of carnosine. For this reason, beta-alanine has been extensively researched for its capacity to increase muscle levels of carnosine, which acts as an intra-muscular buffer of acidity².

Where Does Beta-Alanine Come From?

The major source of beta-alanine is via intake of carnosine from poultry and meat³. Once carnosine is ingested, it is rapidly broken down in the blood to beta-alanine and histidine by an enzyme called carnosinase⁴. Studies suggest that the average omnivore consumes between 50 to 300mg of carnosine⁴. Carnosine is 36.5% beta-alanine by weight, which equates to between 18 and 109mg of beta-alanine for the average omnivore⁵. With meat being the best source of beta-alanine, studies have also shown that vegetarians have 22% lower muscle carnosine levels⁶.

Beta-Alanine Benefits Beta-alanine has largely been studied for its high-intensity exercise performance-enhancing properties and is fast becoming one of the most popular ergogenic aids for sports performance². Studies have repeatedly shown that supplementation with Beta Alanine leads to an increase in the carnosine content of both type I and type II muscle fibres^{1, 7-9}.The performance enhancing effects of beta-alanine have largely been studied using various stationary cycling protocols² because this generally represents the most practical, accurate and cost-effective model for measurement, however, beta-alanine supplementation has also been studied in rowers, runners and bodybuilders². Studies have typically shown that supplementation with beta-alanine leads to an increase in exercise capacity for maximal exercise intervals of between 1 and 4 mins². Some studies have also shown that beta-alanine can increase exercise capacity for durations lasting longer than 4 minutes².