Carnosine is a dipeptide built from two amino acids – beta-alanine and histidine. This compound has gained the greatest popularity among athletes, because it has a positive effect on physical performance, delays muscle fatigue, increases their strength and endurance, as well as accelerates post-workout regeneration. In addition, carnosine has a high pro-health potential and it can potentially be used in the treatment of oxidative-stress-induced diseases.
In sports supplementation, carnosine is often recommended as an alternative to beta-alanine. Scientific research shows that most of the positive properties attributed to beta-alanine actually result from the activity of carnosine. It works perfectly for bodybuilders and lovers of strength sports. Large amounts of carnosine are deposited in type II muscle fibers, which work most intensively during a resistance training and are extremely susceptible to growth stimuli. Carnosine acts as a buffer that prevents unwanted changes within the pH. In addition, it participates in the neutralization of reactive aldehydes, produced in skeletal muscle during an intense physical exercise.
Carnosine is also a valued element of the "anti-aging" strategy. It has gained the honorable name of "elixir of youth", because it inhibits the processes responsible for the body’s aging, and even promotes rejuvenation at the cellular level and increases the efficiency of mitochondria.