24-Week beta-alanine ingestion does not affect muscle taurine or clinical blood parameters in healthy males

Author(s):Show less -

Saunders, Bryan ^{[1, 2]} ; Franchi, Mariana ^[2] ; de Oliveira, Luana Farias ^[2] ; Silva, Vinicius da Eira ^[2] ; da Silva, Rafael Pires ^[2] ; Painelli, Vitor de Salles ^[2] ; Riani Costa, Luiz Augusto ^[2] ; Sale, Craig ^[3] ; Harris, Roger Charles ^[4] ; Roschel, Hamilton ^[2] ; Artioli, Guilherme Giannini ^[2] ; Gualano, Bruno ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med FMUSP, Inst Orthopaed & Traumatol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med FMUSP, Sch Phys Educ & Sport, Appl Physiol & Nutr Res Grp, Rheumatol Div, Av Dr Arnaldo 455, BR-01246903 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[3] Nottingham Trent Univ, Musculoskeletal Physiol Res Grp, Sport Hlth & Performance Enhancement Res Ctr, Nottingham - England

^[4] Junipa Ltd, Newmarket, Suffolk - England

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NUTRITION; v. 59, n. 1, p. 57-65, FEB 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 2

Abstract

Purpose To investigate the effects of chronic beta-alanine (BA) supplementation on muscle taurine content, blood clinical markers and sensory side-effects. Methods Twenty-five healthy male participants (age 27 +/- 4 years, height 1.75 +/- 0.09 m, body mass 78.9 +/- 11.7 kg) were supplemented with 6.4 g day(-1) of sustained-release BA (N = 16; CarnoSyn (TM), NAI, USA) or placebo (PL; N = 9; maltodextrin) for 24 weeks. Resting muscle biopsies of the m. vastus lateralis were taken at 0, 12 and 24 weeks and analysed for taurine content (BA, N = 12; PL, N = 6) using high-performance liquid chromatography. Resting venous blood samples were taken every 4 weeks and analysed for markers of renal, hepatic and muscle function (BA, N = 15; PL, N = 8; aspartate transaminase; alanine aminotransferase; alkaline phosphatase; lactate dehydrogenase; albumin; globulin; creatinine; estimated glomerular filtration rate and creatine kinase). Results There was a significant main effect of group (p = 0.04) on muscle taurine, with overall lower values in PL, although there was no main effect of time or interaction effect (both p > 0.05) and no differences between specific timepoints (week 0, BA: 33.67 +/- 8.18 mmol kg(-1) dm, PL: 27.75 +/- 4.86 mmol kg(-1) dm; week 12, BA: 35.93 +/- 8.79 mmol kg(-1) dm, PL: 27.67 +/- 4.75 mmol kg(-1) dm; week 24, BA: 35.42 +/- 6.16 mmol kg(-1) dm, PL: 31.99 +/- 5.60 mmol kg(-1) dm). There was no effect of treatment, time or any interaction effects on any blood marker (all p > 0.05) and no self-reported side-effects in these participants throughout the study. Conclusions The current study showed that 24 weeks of BA supplementation at 6.4 g day(-1) did not significantly affect muscle taurine content, clinical markers of renal, hepatic and muscle function, nor did it result in chronic sensory side-effects, in healthy individuals. Since athletes are likely to engage in chronic supplementation, these data provide important evidence to suggest that supplementation with BA at these doses for up to 24 weeks is safe for healthy individuals. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/14746-4 - Carnosine metabolism in skeletal muscle: a multi-approach study
• Grantee: Bruno Gualano
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/04973-4 - Nutritional supplementation and exercise to optimise exercise performance: focus on individual responses and a step towards personalized sports nutrition
• Grantee: Bryan Saunders
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Young Researchers
• FAPESP's process: 16/50438-0 - Nutritional suplementation and exercise to optimize exercise performance: focus on individual responses and a step towards personalized sports nutrition
• Grantee: Bryan Saunders
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 12/13026-5 - SUPPLEMENTATION OF B’ETA-ALANINE AND SODIUM BICARBONATE: EFFECTS ON ENERGETIC SYSTEM CONTRIBUTION DURING INTERMITTENT ANAEROBIC EXERCISE
• Grantee: Rafael Pires da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 14/11948-8 - Life without carnosine: development and characterization of a KO rat model for studying the physiological role of carnosine and its implications to physical exercise and muscle metabolism
• Grantee: Guilherme Giannini Artioli
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/04806-0 - Effects of 12 weeks of high-intensity intermittent training on intramuscular carnosine concentrations
• Grantee: Vitor de Salles Painelli
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 15/22686-7 - Effect of beta-alanine supplementation on muscle carnosine and taurine concentrations during six months
• Grantee: Mariana Franchi
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation