beta-Alanine

- Possible bowel toxicity due to Beta-alanine production by intestinal bacteria and/or Candida albicans.

- Possible cause for food sensitivity reactions when combined with low taurine and high 3-methylhistidine, carnosine and/or anserine, due to impaired renal tubular resorption.

- It could be causing high wasting of taurine in the urine, since they compete for the same reabsorption transporters in the kidneys. High taurine levels would verify this.

Often this amino acid is elevated when the dietary peptides anserine and carnosine are elevated because they contain beta-alanine. Catabolism of damaged or diseased body tissue, tumors and malignancy feature increased production and urinary disposal of beta-alanine. Some beta-alanine is produced by normal gut flora which also make pantothenic acid from it. Elevated levels of staphylococcus or streptococcus, use of antibiotics, and breakdown of yeast or fungi in the body can result in increased levels of urinary beta-alanine. Continuously elevated beta-alanine can be detrimental by impairing renal conservation of taurine.

Possible treatment if high:

Supplement B6 (to facilitate amine group transfer). Bowel detox or high potency Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacteria can help with gut dysbiosis.

β-alanine is a breakdown product of carnosine and anserine, which are dipeptides from meat consumption. Although β-alanine’s properties are limited, its relationship to carnosine makes it important. Both have antioxidant properties. And, as previously mentioned, carnosine is critical for pH buffering in skeletal muscle during exercise, but its formation can be limited by enzymatic factors.

For this reason, supplementation with β-alanine is sometimes used to enhance carnitine and therefore improve athletic performance. In addition to diet and supplementation, β-alanine can also be endogenously produced. This occurs via degradation of uracil in the liver but it can also be made by intestinal bacteria such as E. coli.