Longevity & Cellular Health

Anserine

Anserine is a two-amino-acid molecule that occurs naturally in meat and fish, and inside muscle it does two jobs at once: it buffers acid and it mops up the reactive by-products of oxygen metabolism. That second property is why it appears in the longevity aisle, since those same by-products accumulate in ageing tissue, and the animal literature has taken it somewhere unexpected — a 2026 mouse study reports anserine restoring antibacterial immunity in cirrhosis. In people, the highest-graded study attached to it tested an energy drink containing anserine alongside other ingredients, so what an isolated dose does in a person is still an open measurement.

Last updated 12 August 2026

Studied forMuscle pH buffering · Antioxidant research · Exercise performance context

Evidence on file1 randomised human trial · 2 human observational studies · 2 animal studies · 1 citation not yet graded

Strongest sourceEffects of energy drinks on repeated sprint performance and cognitive function in athletes. (randomised human trial)

Mechanism

Buffers intramuscular pH near neutrality and scavenges free radicals, chelating metal ions and limiting lipid peroxidation.

Reported effects

What sources associate with this compound. Reported categories, not outcomes we have graded — each would need its own citation and rung.

Muscle pH buffering
Antioxidant research
Exercise performance context

Dosing on file unverified

No established human dose; supplement only

Carried from a source that labels it unverified, and reproduced with that label attached. A record of what is reported, not a recommendation. No citation on this page establishes it.

Literature on file 6

human RCT
Effects of energy drinks on repeated sprint performance and cognitive function in athletes. graded on: randomised and double-blind — read from the indexed abstract — “double-blind, randomized”
human observational
The Effects of Carnosine on Cognitive Function and Mental Health-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. graded on: a synthesis of human studies — “Systematic Review”
human observational
Anserine restores antibacterial immunity in cirrhosis via a protective CCL5-mediated hepatocyte-CD44+pDC crosstalk. graded on: an observational human design — read from the indexed abstract — “cohort”
animal in vivo
Carnosinylation of Cardiac Antigens Attenuates Immunogenic Responses and Improves Function in Failing Hearts. graded on: an animal model — read from the indexed abstract — “mice”
animal in vivo
Identification of acryloyl-histidine-related components from heat-denatured imidazole dipeptides and heated meats. graded on: an animal model — read from the indexed abstract — “swine”

Not graded

1 citation whose study design could not be read from the title. Left ungraded rather than guessed at.

not graded
NCT05385003: An Interventional Study for the Beneficial Effects of Prebiotics on Hyperuricemia in Chinese Subjects graded on: NCT05385003 is unknown and has posted no results - a registration, not a reported outcome — “NCT05385003”

Identity

Space-filling 3D model of Anserine, carbon grey, nitrogen blue, oxygen red — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms and bonds are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation, and where the SMILES leaves a stereocentre undefined the pose commits to one arbitrarily. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

2D chemical structure of Anserine — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms and bonds are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation, and where the SMILES leaves a stereocentre undefined the pose commits to one arbitrarily. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

Molecular weight: 240.26
Molecular formula: C10H16N4O3
CAS number: 584-85-0
PubChem CID: 112072
InChI key: MYYIAHXIVFADCU-QMMMGPOBSA-N
SMILES: CN1C=NC=C1C[C@@H](C(=O)O)NC(=O)CCN
InChI: InChI=1S/C10H16N4O3/c1-14-6-12-5-7(14)4-8(10(16)17)13-9(15)2-3-11/h5-6,8H,2-4,11H2,1H3,(H,13,15)(H,16,17)/t8-/m0/s1

Notes unverified prose

Preclinical; no large human RCTs identified; no large human RCTs

Not on file 2

1 of the 8 fields we track hold nothing on this record, and each says why. 1 further absence is named below. A blank field is a bug; a named absence is a finding.

amino-acid sequencenot applicable to this compound
half-lifenothing we hold supplies it

Each field links to every other record missing the same thing. The full ledger holds 765 gaps across 163 records.