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Saunders, B, Elliott-Sale, K 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1122-5099, Artioli, GG ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8463-2213, Swinton, PA, Dolan, E, Roschel, H, Sale, C ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5816-4169 and Gualano, B,
2017.
β-alanine supplementation to improve exercise capacity and performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
British Journal of Sports Medicine, 51 (8), pp. 658-669.
ISSN 0306-3674
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Abstract
Objective: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence on the effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise capacity and performance.
Design: This study was designed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. A 3-level mixed effects model was employed to model effect sizes and account for dependencies within data.
Data sources: 3 databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science) were searched using a number of terms (‘β-alanine’ and ‘Beta-alanine’ combined with ‘supplementation’, ‘exercise’, ‘training’, ‘athlete’, ‘performance’ and ‘carnosine’).
Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: Inclusion/exclusion criteria limited articles to double-blinded, placebo-controlled studies investigating the effects of β-alanine supplementation on an exercise measure. All healthy participant populations were considered, while supplementation protocols were restricted to chronic ingestion. Cross-over designs were excluded due to the long washout period for skeletal muscle carnosine following supplementation. A single outcome measure was extracted for each exercise protocol and converted to effect sizes for meta-analyses.
Results: 40 individual studies employing 65 different exercise protocols and totalling 70 exercise measures in 1461 participants were included in the analyses. A significant overall effect size of 0.18 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.28) was shown. Meta-regression demonstrated that exercise duration significantly (p=0.004) moderated effect sizes. Subgroup analyses also identified the type of exercise as a significant (p=0.013) moderator of effect sizes within an exercise time frame of 0.5–10 min with greater effect sizes for exercise capacity (0.4998 (95% CI 0.246 to 0.753)) versus performance (0.1078 (95% CI −0.201 to 0.416)). There was no moderating effect of training status (p=0.559), intermittent or continuous exercise (p=0.436) or total amount of β-alanine ingested (p=0.438). Co-supplementation with sodium bicarbonate resulted in the largest effect size when compared with placebo (0.43 (95% CI 0.22 to 0.64)).
Summary/conclusions: β-alanine had a significant overall effect while subgroup analyses revealed a number of modifying factors. These data allow individuals to make informed decisions as to the likelihood of an ergogenic effect with β-alanine supplementation based on their chosen exercise modality.
| Item Type: | Journal article |
|---|---|
| Publication Title: | British Journal of Sports Medicine |
| Creators: | Saunders, B., Elliott-Sale, K., Artioli, G.G., Swinton, P.A., Dolan, E., Roschel, H., Sale, C. and Gualano, B. |
| Publisher: | BMJ Group |
| Date: | April 2017 |
| Volume: | 51 |
| Number: | 8 |
| ISSN: | 0306-3674 |
| Identifiers: | Number Type 10.1136/bjsports-2016-096396 DOI |
| Divisions: | Schools > School of Science and Technology |
| Record created by: | Jonathan Gallacher |
| Date Added: | 24 Oct 2016 15:16 |
| Last Modified: | 19 Sep 2017 10:19 |
| URI: | https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28933 |
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