Longevity & Cellular Health

Carnosine

Carnosine is a two-amino-acid molecule built from beta-alanine and histidine and stored at high concentration in muscle and brain. Its ageing claim rests on an unusually specific piece of chemistry: it intercepts reactive carbonyls, the fragments that would otherwise go on to form the sugar-damaged proteins that accumulate in old tissue. Randomised human trials do exist, and they are scattered across endurance performance, Gulf War illness, schizophrenia and reflux — with two of the cleanest testing zinc-L-carnosine, a different compound used in the gut and mouth. The obvious trial is the one nobody has yet run: healthy people, carnosine, an ageing outcome measured.

Last updated 12 August 2026

Studied forMuscle pH buffering · Antioxidant research · Exercise endurance context

Evidence on file1 randomised human trial · 2 human observational studies · 4 animal studies · 3 citations not yet graded

Strongest sourceEffects of carnosine supplementation on physical endurance: a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. (randomised human trial)

Mechanism

Buffers intramuscular protons, chelates metal ions, and quenches reactive carbonyls that form glycation and lipoxidation end-products.

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 endurance context

Dosing on file unverified

2-5 g/day (divided doses); MTD: 10 g single dose; 15 g caused 77% adverse events

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 10

human RCT
Effects of carnosine supplementation on physical endurance: a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. graded on: names a randomised controlled trial — “randomized clinical trial”
animal in vivo
Histidine, carnosine, and ergothioneine attenuate pyrazole/LPS-induced hepatotoxicity through modulation of CYP2E1, Nrf2, and NF-κB signaling in mice. graded on: an animal model — “mice”
animal in vivo
Carnosine-Related Metabolism in Rat Cardiomyocytes and Human Heart Tissue. graded on: an animal model — “Rat”
animal in vivo
The Role and Mechanism of Carnosine in Alleviating Type 2 Diabetic Sarcopenia in Mice Through PI3K/AMPK/PGC-1α Signaling Pathway. graded on: an animal model — “Mice”
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”
human observational
NCT00810368: Carnosine Versus Placebo Treatment Study in Gulf War Illness (GWI) graded on: a registered clinical study — “clinicaltrials.gov”
human observational
NCT03314987: Nucleophilic Defense Against PM Toxicity graded on: a registered clinical study — “clinicaltrials.gov”

Not graded

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

not graded
NCT02686697: A Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study on the Effects of Combined L-Carnosine and Cognitive Training on Cognition in Schizophrenia graded on: NCT02686697 is completed and has posted no results - a registration, not a reported outcome — “NCT02686697”
not graded
NCT04430998: Efficacy of a Zinc-L-Carnosine -Based Mouth Rinse on Periodontal Tissues and Pain After Scaling and Root Planing - a Randomized Clinical Trial; a Randomized Controlled Trial graded on: NCT04430998 is unknown and has posted no results - a registration, not a reported outcome — “NCT04430998”
not graded
NCT03467438: Efficacy of Zinc L-carnosine (Hepilor®) in Maintaining Remission of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: a Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study graded on: NCT03467438 is unknown and has posted no results - a registration, not a reported outcome — “NCT03467438”

Identity

Space-filling 3D model of Carnosine, 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 Carnosine — 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: 226.23
Molecular formula: C9H14N4O3
CAS number: 305-84-0
PubChem CID: 439224
InChI key: CQOVPNPJLQNMDC-ZETCQYMHSA-N
SMILES: C1=C(NC=N1)C[C@@H](C(=O)O)NC(=O)CCN
InChI: InChI=1S/C9H14N4O3/c10-2-1-8(14)13-7(9(15)16)3-6-4-11-5-12-6/h4-5,7H,1-3,10H2,(H,11,12)(H,13,14)(H,15,16)/t7-/m0/s1

Notes unverified prose

NEAT trial: 2 g/day for up to 12 weeks; RCT n=299 used 2 g/day; NEAT trial (2 g/day)

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.

Listed prices 6

What 2 shops we track listed for Carnosine, read from their own public catalogues on 2026-09-14. We take no commission on these and they are not ranked by any payment — how vendors are scored.

Compare prices6 listings from 2 shops

Listed in USD
Vendor	Size	Price	Per mg
PureRawz ships worldwide	size not listed	$28.95 USD	—
Modern Aminos	size not listed	$44.00 USD	—
PureRawz ships worldwide	size not listed	$49.18 USD	—
PureRawz ships worldwide	size not listed	$50.81 USD	—
PureRawz ships worldwide	size not listed	$81.42 USD	—
PureRawz ships worldwide	size not listed	$93.45 USD	—

Prices are the vendor's own listing, reproduced with the date we read it — never converted between currencies, and compared per milligram only where the vendor states the vial size.