Stout Jeffrey R, Graves B Sue, Smith Abbie E, Hartman Michael J, Cramer Joel T, Beck Travis W, Harris Roger C
Department of Health and Exercise Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2008 Nov 7;5:21. doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-5-21.
Ageing is associated with a significant reduction in skeletal muscle carnosine which has been linked with a reduction in the buffering capacity of muscle and in theory, may increase the rate of fatigue during exercise. Supplementing beta-alanine has been shown to significantly increase skeletal muscle carnosine. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the effects of ninety days of beta-alanine supplementation on the physical working capacity at the fatigue threshold (PWCFT) in elderly men and women.
Using a double-blind placebo controlled design, twenty-six men (n = 9) and women (n = 17) (age +/- SD = 72.8 +/- 11.1 yrs) were randomly assigned to either beta-alanine (BA: 800 mg x 3 per day; n = 12; CarnoSyntrade mark) or Placebo (PL; n = 14) group. Before (pre) and after (post) the supplementation period, participants performed a discontinuous cycle ergometry test to determine the PWCFT.
Significant increases in PWCFT (28.6%) from pre- to post-supplementation were found for the BA treatment group (p < 0.05), but no change was observed with PL treatment. These findings suggest that ninety days of BA supplementation may increase physical working capacity by delaying the onset of neuromuscular fatigue in elderly men and women.
We suggest that BA supplementation, by improving intracellular pH control, improves muscle endurance in the elderly. This, we believe, could have importance in the prevention of falls, and the maintenance of health and independent living in elderly men and women.
衰老与骨骼肌肌肽显著减少有关，这与肌肉缓冲能力下降有关，理论上可能会增加运动期间的疲劳率。补充β-丙氨酸已被证明可显著增加骨骼肌肌肽。因此，本研究的目的是检验补充β-丙氨酸90天对老年男性和女性疲劳阈值下身体工作能力（PWCFT）的影响。
采用双盲安慰剂对照设计，26名男性（n = 9）和女性（n = 17）（年龄±标准差 = 72.8 ± 11.1岁）被随机分配到β-丙氨酸组（BA：800毫克×每日3次；n = 12；Carnosyn商标）或安慰剂组（PL；n = 14）。在补充期之前（预）和之后（后），参与者进行了间断循环测力计测试以确定PWCFT。
BA治疗组补充前后PWCFT显著增加（28.6%）（p < 0.05），但PL治疗组未观察到变化。这些发现表明，补充β-丙氨酸90天可能通过延迟老年男性和女性神经肌肉疲劳的发作来提高身体工作能力。
我们认为，补充β-丙氨酸通过改善细胞内pH控制，可提高老年人的肌肉耐力。我们相信，这对于预防老年人跌倒以及维持老年男性和女性的健康和独立生活可能具有重要意义。
