Carnosine metabolism and function in the thoroughbred horse
Observational studyHorsesWith beta-alanine (carnosine precursor) with L-histidine (one chapter); other chapters are observational
This study tested carnosine together with beta-alanine (carnosine precursor) with L-histidine (one chapter); other chapters are observational. Its results cannot be assigned to carnosine alone. More combination studies.
- Design
- Observational study
- Subjects
- not stated in the thesis abstract
- Dose used in the 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
- What was measured
- Plasma carnosine by new HPLC methods across age, feeding, exercise and exertional rhabdomyolysis; carnosine in heart, liver, intestine and skeletal muscle; carnosine by fibre type; effect of training and of beta-alanine plus histidine supplementation on fibre carnosine.
What the authors reported
The abstract states carnosine has a pKa of 6.83. Foals and yearlings had lower plasma carnosine than older horses. Plasma carnosine changed little with feeding or high-intensity exercise but rose sharply in exertional rhabdomyolysis. Heart, liver and intestine held 10 to 100 times less carnosine than skeletal muscle. Type IIA and IIB fibres held about five times more than type I. Extensive, partly anaerobic training about doubled type IIA carnosine. Thirty days of beta-alanine plus histidine raised carnosine in IIA and IIB fibres.
Limits of this study
Thesis abstract only; no PDF on the repository page. Numbers for the training effect were not published in a peer-reviewed paper that could be found. Parts were later published as Dunnett and Harris 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2002.
Source
Entry checked against thesis abstract (oro.open.ac.uk/57543); record also in OpenAlex on 2026-10-11. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.