LTP·01learntopeptide
Longevity & bioregulatorsEvidence B3 cited

Carnosine

aka L-carnosine · beta-alanyl-L-histidine · ignotine

A naturally occurring dipeptide (beta-alanine + histidine) with potent anti-glycation, antioxidant, and pH-buffering properties. Acts as an AGE inhibitor, preventing cross-linking of proteins that accelerates tissue aging.

Molecular wt
226.23g/mol
Formula
C9H14N4O3
CAS
305-84-0
Half-life
1 h
clinical
Tmax
1 h
PubChem
439224

Sequence

Read this before quoting the sequence
An endogenous dipeptide, beta-alanyl-L-histidine. It is NOT a standard alpha-peptide: the first residue is beta-alanine, which has no standard one-letter code, so no valid one-letter sequence string exists. Naturally present in skeletal muscle; hydrolysed in human serum by carnosinase.
Source ↗

Mechanism of action

Carnosine inhibits advanced glycation end-product (AGE) formation by reacting with reactive carbonyl species (methylglyoxal, glyoxal) before they can modify proteins. It also acts as a pH buffer in excitable tissues, chelates metal ions (zinc, copper), scavenges reactive oxygen species, and has anti-senescence properties by modulating telomere dynamics.

What the evidence actually shows

Grade B

Multiple clinical studies demonstrate carnosine reduces AGE markers and oxidative stress. Strong mechanistic evidence for anti-glycation. Well-established safety profile with decades of use. Oral bioavailability limited by serum carnosinase.

Regulatory status

Status
Not a prescription medicine; sold as a dietary supplement/food ingredient in the US, UK and EU. L-carnosine is an endogenous compound.
Clinical stage
Multiple published randomised supplementation trials; no drug approval programme identified.
Source ↗

Pharmacokinetics

Half-life
1 h
Tmax
1 h
Absorption
oral
Elimination
renal
Washout
1 days
Low-confidence pharmacokinetics
These figures are recorded as clinical rather than measured in a published PK study. Treat them as an order of magnitude. Anything downstream of them — accumulation, steady state, washout — inherits that uncertainty.

Dosing — what backs each figure

Carnosine is an orally administered dietary dipeptide, not an injectable. The best-supported human regimen is 2 g/day by mouth for 12-14 weeks, used in several randomised controlled trials in prediabetes, type 2 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy; paediatric autism trials used 500 mg/day or 10-15 mg/kg/day for 2 months. Note that most of these trials were null for their primary endpoints — a documented dose is not the same as a demonstrated benefit. Circulating carnosinase rapidly degrades oral carnosine, which is why muscle loading strategies usually use beta-alanine instead.

ClinicalApproved labelling or a published human trial

Handling and storage

No compound-specific stability data exists
No compound-specific stability or storage study was located. Carnosine is supplied as a crystalline solid and is used orally as a dietary supplement, not as a reconstituted injectable, so lyophilised/reconstituted stability framing does not apply in the way it does to injectable peptides. No compound-specific stability study (lyophilised or reconstituted) was located in a primary/regulatory source during this verification pass. Only generic synthetic-peptide handling guidance exists for this compound; no specific temperatures or durations are recorded here rather than fabricating them. General peptide handling still applies — reconstitute gently, keep it cold, keep it dark — but any specific figure you see quoted for this compound elsewhere is someone's assumption, not a measurement.
→ Reconstitution walkthrough→ Reconstitution calculator

Safety

References (3)

Data provenance

Chemistry and citations on this page were checked against primary sources on 2026-08-14. Values that could not be verified were left blank rather than filled with a plausible guess.

Could not verify
sequence.oneLetter, storage.lyophilized, storage.reconstituted, storage.lightSensitive, regulatory.wada

Research use only
This profile is educational reference material. It is not medical advice, not a prescription, and not an endorsement of self-administration. Compounds discussed here are research chemicals and most are not approved for human therapeutic use.

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