Tania
Buehler1, Trent Stellingwerff2, Helen Anwander1,
Andrea Egger3, Roland Kreis1, Chris Boesch1
1Dept. of Clinical Research, University
of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; 2Nestl Research Center, Lausanne,
Switzerland; 3Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Clinical
Nutrition, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Carnosine
(-alanyl-L-histidine) occurs in high concentrations in skeletal muscle and contributes
to the intracellular muscle buffering capacity. Chronic (~4 weeks) -alanine
supplementation has been shown to increase muscle carnosine contents;
however, the optimal -alanine dosing regime remains to be clarified. The
time-course of muscle carnosine changes in both tibialis anterior (TA) and
gastrocnemius (GA) muscles was evaluated in 31 healthy subjects by means of
non-invasive 1H-MRS over 16 weeks (8 weeks -alanine
supplementation with two different, placebo-controlled dosage schemes, followed
by 8 weeks wash-out). A clear dose-response was found, with type I fibers
(TA) being more responsive [%] to loading.