Beta-alanine is is a non-essential amino acid.
What are amino acids?
Non-essential amino acids can be made by the body, so they don’t have to be provided by food. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.
Where is Beta-alanine found?
β-Alanine is not found in any major proteins or enzymes. It is a component of the naturally occurring peptides carnosine and anserine and also of pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), which itself is a component of coenzyme A. Under normal conditions, β-alanine is metabolized into acetic acid. β-Alanine is the rate-limiting precursor of carnosine, which is to say carnosine levels are limited by the amount of available β-alanine, not histidine.
Beta-alanine also is a breakdown product of the pyrimidine bases cytosine and uracil.
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High levels:
- 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.
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