Doses used in published trials

This list is built from the study database. It shows the dose the researchers chose in each study, and for how long. Follow a study’s link for its design, result and limits. Entries that gave beta-alanine or zinc-L-carnosine rather than carnosine say so in the dose field.

These are not recommended doses. A dose used in a trial is not shown to be the right dose, or a safe dose, for any person or animal. In people, oral carnosine is largely broken down within minutes; see Carnosinase and absorption. Talk to your doctor or vet.

Humans

De 2026 Meta-analysis: Varied: mouthwashes, lozenges and mucoadhesive suspensions. Duration: Varied across included studies.
Ali 2025 Open-label, no control group: Single escalating oral doses up to 15 g; long-term arm 5 g twice daily. Duration: Single doses, plus 4 weeks in the long-term arm.
Beaven 2025 Randomised controlled trial: 10 mL carnosine gel or ultrasound placebo gel applied 40 minutes before exercise. Duration: two sessions, counterbalanced triple-blind crossover.
Baba 2024 Randomised controlled trial: 2 g carnosine per day. Duration: 12 weeks (samples at 6 and 12 weeks).
Hariharan 2024 Randomised controlled trial: 2 g carnosine per day. Duration: 14 weeks.
Saadati 2023 Randomised controlled trial: 2 g carnosine per day. Duration: 14 weeks.
Mahmoud 2022 Meta-analysis: Varied across included trials. Duration: Varied across included trials.
Shen 2022 Randomised controlled trial: Polaprezinc tablets (dose not stated in abstract) versus rebamipide tablets. Duration: 8 weeks.
Matthews 2021 Meta-analysis: Varied across included studies. Duration: Varied across included studies.
Siriwattanasit 2021 Randomised controlled trial: 2 g carnosine per day, added to standard therapy. Duration: 12 weeks.
Araminia 2020 Randomised controlled trial: 400 mg carnosine twice daily (800 mg per day). Duration: 6 weeks.
Menon 2020 Meta-analysis: Varied across included studies. Duration: Varied across included studies.
Dolan 2019 Meta-analysis: Varied across included studies. Duration: Varied across included studies.
Dissette 2018 Laboratory study: 10 microlitres of gel: 1.50% L-carnosine with 1.64% magnesium salt (A); 1.50% free carnosine (B); 1.64% magnesium salt (C). Duration: single application for 24 hours, or repeat application at 24 hours for 48 hours total.
Elbarbary 2018 Randomised controlled trial: 1 g carnosine per day. Duration: 12 weeks.
Hajizadeh-Zaker 2018 Randomised controlled trial: 800 mg carnosine per day in two divided doses, added to risperidone up to 2 mg per day. Duration: 10 weeks.
Houjeghani 2018 Randomised controlled trial: 1 g carnosine per day (two 500 mg capsules). Duration: 12 weeks.
Saunders 2017 Meta-analysis: Chronic beta-alanine ingestion protocols only; doses varied. Duration: Varied across included studies.
Davison 2016 Randomised controlled trial: Zinc carnosine, colostrum, both, or placebo (dose not stated in abstract). Duration: 14 days per arm, with standardised exercise on days 2 and 14.
de 2016 Randomised controlled trial: 2 g carnosine per day. Duration: 12 weeks.
Hisatsune 2016 Randomised controlled trial: 1.0 g per day of a 3:1 anserine/carnosine formula. Duration: 3 months.
Sharpe 2016 Open-label, no control group: 10 mL of gel applied 45 minutes before testing. Duration: three test conditions separated by 3-day washouts.
Doi 2015 Controlled trial: Polaprezinc mouth rinse four times a day. Duration: Throughout radiotherapy (60 to 66 Gy with chemotherapy).
Lombardi 2015 Randomised controlled trial: 500 mg orodispersible L-carnosine once daily added to standard treatment. Duration: 6 months.
Rokicki 2015 Randomised controlled trial: 500 mg imidazole dipeptide formula (carnosine to anserine ratio 1:3) twice daily, versus identical placebo. Duration: 3 months.
Szczesniak 2014 Randomised controlled trial: 2.5 g per day of chicken meat extract supplying 1 g of anserine plus carnosine. Duration: 13 weeks.
Baraniuk 2013 Randomised controlled trial: 500 mg, then 1000 mg, then 1500 mg carnosine per day, increased every 4 weeks. Duration: 12 weeks (randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled dose escalation).
Stegen 2013 Controlled trial: study A: 4.8 g/day slow-release beta-alanine; study B: 3.2 g/day as pure beta-alanine between meals, pure beta-alanine at the start of meals, or slow-release beta-alanine at the start of meals. Duration: 5 weeks (study 1); 6 to 7 weeks (study 2).
Watari 2013 Randomised controlled trial: 150 mg polaprezinc per day. Duration: 4 weeks.
Chengappa 2012 Randomised controlled trial: 2 g carnosine per day, as adjunctive treatment (matched placebo comparison). Duration: 3 months; assessments at baseline, 4 and 12 weeks.
del 2012 Randomised controlled trial: 3.2 g/day beta-alanine (sustained-release Carnosyn tablets, 800 mg twice, two times a day). Duration: 12 weeks.
Dutka 2012 Laboratory study: 8 and 16 mM carnosine in the bathing solution.
Everaert 2012 Open-label, no control group: 60 mg/kg body weight carnosine, single oral dose.
Everaert 2011 Observational study: not applicable (no supplement given). Duration: cross-sectional.
Baguet 2010 Randomised controlled trial: 5 g/day beta-alanine. Duration: 7 weeks.
Kubomura 2010 Controlled trial: rats: anserine by intraperitoneal injection (doses not specified in abstract) and 0.1 mg intraduodenal; humans: oral dose not stated in abstract.
Yeum 2010 Open-label, no control group: 450 mg pure carnosine, 150 g beef, 150 g chicken or broth from 150 g chicken, one dose per phase. Duration: single doses with more than 2 weeks washout between four phases; sampling to 5 hours (plasma) and 7 hours (urine).
Baguet 2009 Randomised controlled trial: 4.8 g beta-alanine per day. Duration: 5 to 6 weeks of supplementation, then 9 weeks of washout.
Kendrick 2009 Controlled trial: 6.4 g beta-alanine per day. Duration: 4 weeks.
Van 2009 Randomised controlled trial: 2 to 4 g/day beta-alanine. Duration: 8 weeks.
Boldyrev 2008 Controlled trial: not stated in abstract. Duration: not stated in abstract.
Kendrick 2008 Randomised controlled trial: 6.4 g/day beta-alanine. Duration: 10 weeks.
Derave 2007 Randomised controlled trial: 4.8 g/day beta-alanine. Duration: 4 weeks.
Hill 2007 Controlled trial: beta-alanine (CarnoSyn), dose rising over the study (amount not stated in abstract). Duration: 4 weeks, extended to 10 weeks in a subgroup.
Mahmood 2007 Laboratory study: cells: up to 100 micromol/L; rats: 5 mg/mL oral (gastric model); mice: 40 mg/mL oral (small intestine); humans: zinc carnosine 37.5 mg twice daily with indomethacin 50 mg three times daily. Duration: human arm: 5 days per treatment period.
Harris 2006 Controlled trial: Single doses of beta-alanine at 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg body weight, or chicken broth supplying 40 mg/kg beta-alanine as histidine dipeptides; then 3 doses of 10 mg/kg per day for 15 days; then 3.2 g/day or 6.4 g/day beta-alanine (multiple doses of 400 or 800 mg), or an isomolar dose of L-carnosine, for 4 weeks. Duration: 4 weeks (chronic phase).
Park 2005 Open-label, no control group: A single meal of 200 g cooked ground beef containing 124 mg carnosine per 100 g, about 248 mg carnosine in total. Duration: Single meal after an overnight fast and 48 hours without meat; blood sampled from before the meal through 24 hours.
Babizhayev 2002 Randomised controlled trial: 1% N-acetylcarnosine eye drops twice daily. Duration: 6 months (trial 1) and 24 months (trial 2).
Chez 2002 Randomised controlled trial: 800 mg carnosine per day. Duration: 8 weeks.
Babizhayev 2001 Controlled trial: 1 percent N-acetylcarnosine eye drops, two drops twice daily. Duration: 6 months, with follow-up to 24 months.
Petroff 1998 Open-label, no control group: vigabatrin 2 g/day and 4 g/day.
Dunnett 1992 Laboratory study: not applicable. Duration: not applicable.
Gardner 1991 Laboratory study: not stated in abstract. Duration: plasma and urine monitored for 5 hours after ingestion.
Harris 1990 Observational study: not applicable (no supplement given). Duration: not applicable.
Fleisher 1980 Case series: 100 mg/kg L-carnosine oral load.
Sadikali 1975 Laboratory study: not applicable (enzyme assay); carnosine tolerance tests in one patient, amount not stated in abstract. Duration: not stated in abstract.
Harris 1974 Laboratory study: not applicable. Duration: not applicable.

Dogs

Hill 2012 Laboratory study: not stated in abstract (compound added to Ussing chamber solution). Duration: 180 minutes ex vivo.
Dunnett 1992 Laboratory study: not applicable. Duration: not applicable.
Harris 1990 Observational study: not applicable (no supplement given). Duration: not applicable.

Cats

Panickar 2021 Controlled trial: control food; control plus 300 mg/kg L-carnitine; control plus 1000 mg/kg carnosine; control plus both. Duration: 169 days.

Horses

Li 2024 Randomised controlled trial: beta-alanine 300 mg/kg body weight per day (test) versus alpha-alanine 300 mg/kg body weight per day (control). Duration: 30 days.
Dieter 2021 Randomised controlled trial: carnosine plus a proprietary transdermal delivery agent, or the agent alone as placebo, applied over the middle gluteal muscle; amount not in the abstract. Duration: single application; biopsies at 0, 30, 60 and 120 minutes.
Mori 2015 Laboratory study: not applicable. Duration: not applicable.
Peiretti 2011 Laboratory study: not applicable. Duration: not applicable.
Pacchini 2007 Observational study: not applicable (no supplement given). Duration: two standardised treadmill exercise tests 48 hours apart.
Dunnett 2002 Observational study: not applicable (no supplement given). Duration: not stated.
Dunnett 1999 Open-label, no control group: beta-alanine 100 mg/kg body weight plus L-histidine 12.5 mg/kg body weight, three times daily. Duration: 30 days.
Dunnett 1997 Laboratory study: not applicable. Duration: not applicable.
Dunnett 1997 Laboratory study: oral and intravenous N-acetylcarnosine doses were given; amounts not in the abstract. Duration: not stated.
Dunnett 1996 Observational study: beta-alanine plus histidine for 30 days (dose not in abstract; the published version is Dunnett and Harris 1999: 100 mg/kg beta-alanine plus 12.5 mg/kg histidine three times daily). Duration: 30 days for the supplementation chapter.
Dunnett 1995 Observational study: not applicable (no supplement given). Duration: single biopsy sampling.
Dunnett 1992 Laboratory study: not applicable. Duration: not applicable.
Sewell 1992 Observational study: not applicable (no supplement given). Duration: single biopsy sampling.
Bump 1990 Observational study: not applicable (no supplement given). Duration: single biopsy sampling.
Harris 1990 Observational study: not applicable (no supplement given). Duration: not applicable.
Marlin 1989 Observational study: not applicable (no supplement given). Duration: single biopsy sampling.

Other animals

Łochyński 2022 Controlled trial: 0.1% carnosine in drinking water, about 46 mg/kg body weight per day. Duration: 34 weeks or the last 10 weeks of a 34-week period.
Caruso 2019 Laboratory study: up to 20 mM carnosine in culture medium (highest dose stated). Duration: not stated in abstract.
Davis 2016 Meta-analysis: varied across studies; the authors report a clear dose-response relationship. Duration: varied; efficacy fell when carnosine was given more than 6 hours after ischaemia.
Baykara 2014 Controlled trial: 100 mg/kg carnosine by nasogastric catheter 1 hour before each ethanol dose (ethanol 5 g/kg, three doses, given twice a day).
Bae 2013 Controlled trial: not stated in abstract (intravenous, described as dose-dependent). Duration: single treatment given up to 6 hours (transient occlusion) or 9 hours (permanent occlusion) after stroke onset; outcomes followed to day 14.
Everaert 2013 Laboratory study: carnosine 0.1%, 0.5% or 1.8%, or beta-alanine 0.6% or 1.2%, in drinking water. Duration: 8-12 weeks.
Herculano 2013 Laboratory study: 5 mg/day. Duration: 6 weeks (high-fat diet 8 weeks).
Ansurudeen 2012 Laboratory study: 100 mg/kg carnosine intraperitoneally every day, plus local application to the wound.
Cartwright 2012 Laboratory study: 10 to 30 mM L-carnosine in culture medium.
Horii 2012 Laboratory study: 3.3 mg/kg L-carnosine intraduodenally in rats; 1 mg/mL L-carnosine as the only drinking water in mice.
Iovine 2012 Laboratory study: 50 to 100 mM carnosine in culture.
Ma 2012 Laboratory study: 200 and 500 mg/kg carnosine.
Peters 2012 Controlled trial: not stated in abstract. Duration: 4 weeks of carnosine treatment.
Aldini 2011 Controlled trial: 30 mg/kg per day of L-carnosine or D-carnosine in drinking water. Duration: 24 weeks.
Dursun 2011 Laboratory study: 10 mg/kg/day carnosine intraperitoneally; adriamycin 16 mg/kg single dose on day 14. Duration: 2 weeks before and continuing after adriamycin.
Kim 2011 Controlled trial: 0.5% L-carnosine, or 0.25% L-carnosine plus 0.25% alpha-lipoic acid, or 0.5% alpha-lipoic acid in the diet. Duration: 6 weeks.
Koppel 2011 Laboratory study: 20 mM L-carnosine in culture medium.
Peiretti 2011 Laboratory study: not applicable. Duration: not applicable.
Pfister 2011 Laboratory study: 1 g/kg body weight/day. Duration: 6 months.
Riedl 2011 Laboratory study: 1 g/kg body weight per day L-carnosine. Duration: 3 months.
Zhang 2011 Laboratory study: 250 mg/kg carnosine intraperitoneally, 30 minutes before hypoxia-ischaemia on postnatal day 7.
Artun 2010 Laboratory study: 2 g/L in drinking water. Duration: 4 weeks of carnosine in drinking water before ethanol.
Aydin 2010 Laboratory study: 250 mg/kg carnosine daily, intraperitoneal. Duration: 1 month.
Aydin 2010 Laboratory study: 2 g carnosine per litre of drinking water; thioacetamide 200 mg/kg intraperitoneally twice weekly. Duration: 3 months.
Drafi 2010 Laboratory study: 200 umol/L carnosine in vitro (methotrexate compared at up to 400 umol/L); animal dose not stated in abstract.
Ko 2010 Laboratory study: polaprezinc 30 or 60 mg/kg once daily by mouth; ginger extract 1.5 to 5 g/kg. Duration: 3 days of dosing, killed on day 5.
Kubomura 2010 Controlled trial: rats: anserine by intraperitoneal injection (doses not specified in abstract) and 0.1 mg intraduodenal; humans: oral dose not stated in abstract.
Ma 2010 Controlled trial: 0, 25, 50 or 100 mg/kg of diet. Duration: 8 weeks.
Noori 2010 Laboratory study: 10 mg/kg carnosine for 10 consecutive days; cisplatin 3 mg/kg on 5 alternate days. Duration: 10 days of carnosine.
Ozel 2010 Laboratory study: 1 mg/kg/day carnosine orally; ethanol 2 g/kg/day intraperitoneally.
Renner 2010 Controlled trial: 500 microlitres of 1 M carnosine solution daily by intraperitoneal injection; controls received intraperitoneal NaCl. Duration: 24 days of observation.
Tsai 2010 Controlled trial: 0.5, 1 or 2 g/L carnosine in drinking water. Duration: 4 weeks.
Jappar 2009 Laboratory study: 10 micromolar tritiated carnosine for uptake studies, with concentration-dependence experiments at varying substrate levels. Duration: not stated in abstract (time-course uptake experiments).
Kamal 2009 Laboratory study: Single intravenous tail-vein bolus of tritiated carnosine, 1 nmol per g body weight. Duration: Serial blood sampling over 30 minutes with terminal collection of blood, CSF, urine and tissues at 30 minutes.
Liu 2009 Laboratory study: 50 g/L or 20 g/L eye drops; 1.00, 0.10 and 0.01 g/L in lens culture medium. Duration: 3 weeks of eye drops; cultured lenses 1 week.
Takahashi 2009 Laboratory study: Concentrations above 5 mM in culture.
Yan 2009 Laboratory study: 0.5, 1 or 2 g/L in drinking water. Duration: 4 weeks.
Derave 2008 Laboratory study: Creatine at 2 percent of food intake. Duration: 10 to 60 weeks of age.
Fouad 2008 Laboratory study: 10 mg/kg/day carnosine intraperitoneally for 6 days, starting 3 days before a single 20 mg/kg cisplatin injection. Duration: 6 days.
Fu 2008 Laboratory study: 5 mM carnosine for 18 hours before 5 microM Abeta42 for 24 hours.
Haug 2008 Controlled trial: 1 g/kg histidine added to feed.
Ibrahim 2008 Laboratory study: 0, 200 or 1000 mg carnosine per kg diet; vitamin E (as alpha-tocopheryl acetate) 0, 10 or 100 IU/kg diet. Duration: 15 weeks.
Liu 2008 Laboratory study: 0.5, 1 or 2 g/L histidine or carnosine in drinking water. Duration: 3 weeks after chronic alcoholic liver injury was established.
Mishima 2008 Controlled trial: diet containing chicken breast extract. Duration: 5 weeks.
Sato 2008 Laboratory study: Oral LD50 testing; gavage of 500 or 2000 mg/kg/day chicken breast extract. Duration: 90 days.
Yan 2008 Controlled trial: carnosine eye drops 5 mg/mL or 10 mg/mL to the left eye twice daily, starting on the day of streptozotocin injection. Duration: 13 to 14 weeks.
Bauchart 2007 Laboratory study: Meat meals of 0.94 or 1.4 g protein/kg body weight (grilled top loin 20.7, neck and brisket 12.2, stewed shoulder 7.2 micromol carnosine/g).
Cuzzocrea 2007 Controlled trial: 150 mg/kg/day carnosine by oral bolus. Duration: 1 week after bleomycin.
Mahmood 2007 Laboratory study: cells: up to 100 micromol/L; rats: 5 mg/mL oral (gastric model); mice: 40 mg/mL oral (small intestine); humans: zinc carnosine 37.5 mg twice daily with indomethacin 50 mg three times daily. Duration: human arm: 5 days per treatment period.
Rajanikant 2007 Controlled trial: not stated in abstract. Duration: not stated in abstract (carnosine given before and after ischaemia).
Sauerhöfer 2007 Controlled trial: not stated in abstract (L-carnosine added to feed). Duration: not stated in abstract.
Tomonaga 2007 Laboratory study: Single oral dose of chicken breast extract, 20 ml/kg.
Kurata 2006 Laboratory study: 1.5 and 5 pmol/rat L-carnosine intracerebroventricularly; 15 nmol/rat intravenously.
Lee 2005 Laboratory study: 0.5 or 1 g/L histidine or carnosine in drinking water. Duration: 4 weeks.
Tomonaga 2005 Laboratory study: 3.2 micromol carnosine intracerebroventricularly.
Dutka 2004 Laboratory study: 4, 8 and 16 mM carnosine applied to the cytoplasmic side of skinned fibres.
Hobart 2004 Laboratory study: not stated in abstract. Duration: not stated in abstract.
Fujii 2003 Laboratory study: 1 or 10 microg/kg L-carnosine intravenously before ischaemia; the higher dose also tested 5 minutes after reperfusion.
Nagai 2003 Controlled trial: 0.1%, 0.01% or 0.001% L-carnosine in the diet; intraperitoneal and intracerebroventricular injections in other experiments.
Bharadwaj 2002 Laboratory study: 1 microM carnosine pretreatment of cultured cells.
Ishihara 2002 Controlled trial: 0.02% polaprezinc in chow. Duration: 12 weeks.
Niijima 2002 Laboratory study: 1 microg L-carnosine intravenously for nerve recording; diet containing 0.0001 or 0.001 percent L-carnosine for blood pressure.
Kato 2001 Controlled trial: polaprezinc 3 to 10 mg/kg by mouth twice daily; omeprazole 30 mg/kg by mouth once daily; recombinant human IGF-1 30 micrograms/kg subcutaneously twice daily. Duration: 14 days of treatment, starting 3 days after ulceration.
Nagasawa 2001 Laboratory study: Carnosine 1 to 2.5 mM in vitro; histidine-supplemented diet in vivo. Duration: 13 days of histidine feeding.
Gallant 2000 Controlled trial: not stated in abstract (given as a dietary supplement). Duration: not stated in abstract.
Korolkiewicz 2000 Laboratory study: Polaprezinc 3 to 30 mg/kg, or zinc sulfate and L-carnosine alone or combined, orally twice daily. Duration: 4 days after HCl injury.
Ririe 2000 Laboratory study: 0.625 to 20 mM carnosine applied to isolated aortic rings.
Seidler 2000 Laboratory study: 1 to 20 mM carnosine. Duration: 4 days at 37 degrees C.
McFarland 1999 Laboratory study: 50 mM carnosine in culture medium.
Nishiwaki 1999 Laboratory study: polaprezinc 3 to 30 mg/kg by mouth before monochloramine (120 mM); more than 10 mg/kg by mouth twice daily for healing. Duration: 7 days (healing study).
Seto 1999 Laboratory study: Polaprezinc 1 nM to 30 nM in culture.
Zhou 1999 Laboratory study: 5 mM carnosine against 0.5 mM aldehyde. Duration: 1 hour at 40 degrees C, pH 7.4.
O'Dowd 1998 Laboratory study: carnosine in rings up to 10 mM; binding assay with zinc at 10, 30 and 80 microM.
Dunnett 1997 Laboratory study: not applicable. Duration: not applicable.
Zaloga 1997 Laboratory study: 1-10 mM in perfusate.
Zapata-Sudo 1997 Laboratory study: 0.1 to 10 mM carnosine.
Babizhayev 1996 Laboratory study: 1 percent N-acetylcarnosine or 1 percent carnosine to the rabbit eye.
Holliday 1996 Laboratory study: Physiological concentrations in culture; 20 mM in the mixed-culture experiment.
Hipkiss 1995 Laboratory study: not stated in abstract. Duration: not stated in abstract.
McFarland 1994 Laboratory study: 20 to 50 mM carnosine in culture medium.
Lamont 1992 Laboratory study: Millimolar concentrations, described as near physiological for many skeletal fibres; concentration-dependent.
Kohen 1988 Laboratory study: physiological concentrations (as stated by the authors; exact values not stated in abstract). Duration: not applicable.
Nagai 1986 Controlled trial: subcutaneous, 2 cm from the implantation site, starting the day after implantation; doses not stated in abstract.
Greene 1984 Laboratory study: Compound 48/80 at 5 mg/kg intraperitoneally (carnosine itself was not administered).
Fitzpatrick 1982 Controlled trial: 1 mg/100 g body weight/day carnosine or histidine, intraperitoneal. Duration: 7 days.
Sadikali 1975 Laboratory study: not applicable (enzyme assay); carnosine tolerance tests in one patient, amount not stated in abstract. Duration: not stated in abstract.
Gulewitsch 1900 Laboratory study: not applicable. Duration: not applicable.