β-alanine (BA) supplementation may increase muscle buffering capacity and affect physiological responses during exercise. We examined the effects of 4 weeks of BA supplementation on muscle carnosine and serum lactate in male rats. Rats (n = 24, age: 2 months, body weight: 265±22 g) were divided into a BA supplementation or control group. Along with aerobic acclimatization exercise (15 m·min(-1), 8-10 min·day(-1), 4 days·week(-1) for 4 weeks), the BA group had access to BA powder in their drinking water (1.8%) with the control group having access to plain water for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, rats ran on a treadmill at speeds of 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 m·min(-1), respectively, each for 4 min, in order to measure post-exercise serum lactate. Muscle carnosine and serum lactate levels were measured with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) procedures, respectively. Following BA supplementation, carnosine content in the m.rectus femoris increased by 117% (p < .01) and serum lactate decreased by 7.4% (p < .01). It was concluded that β-alanine supplementation increases muscle carnosine content and reduces serum lactate; these changes may indicate an adaptation of rat skeletal muscles to postpone peripheral muscle fatigue during high-intensity exercise.
Keywords: carnosine; muscle fatigue; rats; running; serum lactate; β-alanine.