Carnosine is an amino acid found in the body. It can be found in food and supplements and comes in eye drops. Carnosine, also known as L-carnosine, is an antioxidant that is reported to promote energy and strength in the muscular system. It is synthesized in animal tissues, especially muscle and brain , and is not contained in any plant foods. One study has shown vegetarians to have 50% or less carnosine in muscle tissue .
Most of the research on carnosine has been in vitro and in animal models, with a few small studies conducted in humans. Most of the research has looked at carnosine as an anti-glycation/anti-glycosylation agent and for athletic performance.
Carnosine is thought to inhibit Advanced Glycation End (AGE) products, among other glycosylation products. This could be valuable in preventing or treating a range of diseases that are affected by AGE products, such as diabetes and diseases that can be caused by diabetes such as cataracts. Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's might also be improved by carnosine. At present (2009), these therapies are in their infancy and I would not start supplementing with carnosine until more is known.
A substance that protects and extends the functional life of the body's key building blocks—cells, proteins, DNA, lipids—can be fairly called an agent of longevity. When that agent is safe, naturally present in the body and in food, and has demonstrated prolongation of life span in animals and cultured human cells, it is fundamental to any life extension program. Mounting research suggests that carnosine has just such anti-aging potential.
Carnosine is a multifunctional dipeptide made up of a chemical combination of the amino acids beta-alanine and l-histidine. Long-lived cells such as nerve cells (neurons) and muscle cells (myocytes) contain high levels of carnosine. Muscle levels of carnosine correlate with the maximum life spans of animal species (Hipkiss AR et al., 1995).
Laboratory research on cellular senescence (the end of the life cycle of dividing cells) suggests that these facts may not be coincidences. Carnosine has the remarkable ability to rejuvenate cells approaching senescence, restoring normal appearance and extending cellular life span.
How does carnosine rejuvenate cells? We do not yet know the full answer, but carnosine's properties may point up key mechanisms of tissue and cell aging, as well as the anti-aging measures that counteract them.
Carnosine addresses the biochemical paradox of life: the elements that make and give life—oxygen, glucose, lipids, protein, trace metals—also destroy life in ways that are inhibited by carnosine. Carnosine protects against their destructive sides through potent antioxidant, anti-glycating, aldehyde quenching and metal chelating actions (Quinn PJ et al., 1992; Hipkiss AR, Preston JE et al., 1998). A prime beneficiary is the body's biggest target—its proteins.
The body is made up largely of proteins. Unfortunately, proteins tend to undergo destructive changes as we age, due largely to oxidation and interactions with sugars or aldehydes. These interrelated protein modifications include oxidation, carbonylation, cross-linking, glycation and advanced glycation endproduct (AGE) formation. They figure prominently not only in the processes of aging but also in its familiar signs such as skin aging, cataracts and neurodegeneration. Studies show that carnosine is effective against all these forms of protein modification.
As an antioxidant, carnosine potently quenches that most destructive of free radicals, the hydroxyl radical, as well as superoxide, singlet oxygen and the peroxyl radical. Surprisingly, carnosine was the only antioxidant to significantly protect chromosomes from oxidative damage due to 90% oxygen exposure.
Carnosine's ability to rejuvenate connective tissue cells may explain its beneficial effects on wound healing. In addition, skin aging is bound up with protein modification. Damaged proteins accumulate and cross-link in the skin, causing wrinkles and loss of elasticity. In the lens of the eye, protein cross-linking is part of cataract formation. Carnosine eye drops have been shown to delay vision senescence in humans, being effective in 100% of cases of primary senile cataract and 80% of cases of mature senile cataract (Wang AM et al., 2000).
Carnosine levels decline with age. Muscle levels decline 63% from age 10 to age 70, which may account for the normal age-related decline in muscle mass and function (Stuerenberg HJ et al., 1999). Since carnosine acts as a pH buffer, it can keep on protecting muscle cell membranes from oxidation under the acidic conditions of muscular exertion. Carnosine enables the heart muscle to contract more efficiently through enhancement of calcium response in heart myocytes (Zaloga GP et al., 1997).
The high levels of carnosine in the brain may serve as natural protection against excitotoxicity, copper and zinc toxicity, protein cross-linking and glycation, and especially oxidation of cell membranes. Animal studies show broad protective effects in simulated stroke.
New research shows that copper and zinc dramatically stimulate senile plaque formation in Alzheimer's disease. Chelators of these metals dissolve plaques in the laboratory. Carnosine can also inhibit the cross-linking of amyloid-beta that leads to plaque formation. A signature of Alzheimer's disease is impairment of brain microvasculature. Carnosine protected the cells that line brain blood vessels (endothelial cells) from damage by amyloid-beta (senile plaque material) as well as by products of lipid oxidation and alcohol metabolism in laboratory experiments.
Now that many are cutting down on meat—the main dietary source of carnosine—supplementation becomes especially important. Carnosine is safe, with no toxicity even at dosages above 500 mg per kilogram of body weight in animal studies (Quinn PJ et al., 1992). It is most fortunate that carnosine is safe at high dosages because the body would neutralize lesser amounts of carnosine. The enzyme carnosinase (Quinn PJ et al., 1992) must be saturated with more carnosine than it is able to neutralize in order to make free carnosine available to the rest of the body.
There are thought to be many mechanisms responsible for aging. Consequently, an agent must work along many basic pathways of the aging process in order to control it. Scientists have described carnosine as “pluripotent”—active in a multitude of ways, in many tissues and organs (Hipkiss AR, Preston JE et al., 1998). Carnosine's pluripotent life extension potential places it on a par with CoQ10 as a cornerstone of longevity nutrition.
Foods and Supplements with Carnosine
Protein is a rich source of carnosine, which is found in in milk, eggs and cheese, though the best source is supplied by beef, poultry and pork products. Supplements of L-carnosine are beneficial, and even become necessary when the diet is not rich in proteins. Vegetarians are possibly a good example of those not taking in enough protein. There are many supplements available on the marketplace containing adequate doses of L-carnosine. The negative publicity that red meat has been getting during the past several years is a major cause of carnosine deficiency in the diet.
How Carnosine Affects the Body
Carnosine is a strong antioxidant that destroys free radicals. According to Dr. Karin Grandstorm Jordan, carnosine is the only antioxidant that protects chromosomes from oxidative damages. Though carnosine is part of our body makeup, it tends to decline with age, one of the primary reasons why muscle mass decreases as we get older.
Carnosine and Vision
Carnosine is also available in drops for the eyes. Carnosine drops are given to those with beginning cataracts, and have been shown to delay their onset in many people. Good nutrition is aways a key element for general good health, which also includes vision health. Research performed by Russian scientists has confirmed that carnosine is effective in both the prevention and treating of cataracts. During a blind study of patients between the ages of 48 and 60 with visual problems, a large percentage showed great improvement, and the rest stayed the same.
Potential Benefits of Carnosine
Carnosine helps the heart muscle to contract more efficiently. It aids in increasing the life span of all cells in our bodies. Carnosine has potential benefits for protecting the central nervous system, but studies regarding the many possible benefits on humans have been relatively few. Carnosine has also gained in popularity among weight builders. It has potential to slow the aging process in general, it could possibly make some headway with autism and hyperactivity in children, and carnosine also shows promise in improving Parkinson's disease symptoms as well as the ravages of Alzheimer's disease. To date trials have not proved conclusive, and there is still quite a bit unknown about the total benefits of carnosine.
Benefits of Carnosine include :
-Carnosine may lower blood glucose, enhances insulin sensitivity, and could help fight type 2 diabetes from emerging.
-Carnosine may help protect harm LDL (good cholesterol) that could otherwise cause arterial plaque formation and blood vessel damage
-Carnosine has been shown to extend the lifespan of male fruit flies by 20%, it has been shown to expand the lifetime of human cells in culture.
-Carnosine can help inhibit the sympathetic nervous system activity that causes hypertension
-It has been shown to protect the heart muscle against toxins, specifically chemotherapy agents.
-May help block the DNA damage that can lead to cancer formation
SIde Effects of Carnosine
To date no adverse side effects have been reported. Some short-term results show it could possibly create alertness but also unsound sleep, but only when high doses are administered. There are possible allergic reactions to carnosine as it stimulates histamines in the body; reactions include rashes and runny noses.
Disclaimer: This website is for information purposes only. By providing the information contained herein we are not diagnosing, treating, curing, mitigating, or preventing any type of disease or medical condition. Before beginning any type of natural, integrative or conventional treatment regime, it is advisible to seek the advice of a licensed healthcare professional.
