 |
 |
Beta-Alanine |
|
Beta-alanine
 |
|
Beta-alanine |
| Systematic (IUPAC) name |
| 3-aminopropanoic acid |
| Identifiers |
| PubChem |
239 |
| Chemical data |
| Formula |
C3H7NO2 |
| Molar mass |
89.093 |
| SMILES |
C(CN)C(=O)O |
| Complete data |
In biochemistry, beta-alanine is the only naturally occurring beta amino acid, which are amino acids in which the amino group is at the â-position from the carboxylate group (i.e., two atoms away, see Figure 1). The IUPAC name for â-alanine would be 3-aminopropionic acid. Unlike its normal counterpart, L-á-alanine, â-alanine has no chiral center.
â-alanine is not used in the biosynthesis of any major proteins or enzymes. It is formed in vivo by the degradation of dihydrouracil and carnosine. It is a component of the naturally occurring peptides carnosine and anserine and also of pantothenic acid (Vitamin B-5) which itself is a component of coenzyme A. Under normal conditions, beta-alanine is metabolized into acetic acid.
â-alanine is the rate-limiting precursor of carnosine, which is to say carnosine levels are limited by the amount of available â-alanine. Supplementation with â-alanine has been shown to increase the concentration of carnosine in muscles, decrease fatigue in athletes and increase total muscular work done.[1][2]
Even though much weaker than glycine(and thus with a debated role as a physiological transmitter), beta alanine is an agonist next in activity to the cognate ligant glycine itself, for strychnine-sensitive inhibitory glycine receptors (GlyRs) (the agonist order: glycine>>b-alanine>taurine>>lalanine, l-serine>proline).[3]
References
- ^ Derave W, Ozdemir MS, Harris R, Pottier A, Reyngoudt H, Koppo K, Wise JA, Achten E. (Aug 9). "Beta-alanine supplementation augments muscle carnosine content and attenuates fatigue during repeated isokinetic contraction bouts in trained sprinters". J Appl Physiol. PMID 17690198.
- ^ Hill CA, Harris RC, Kim HJ, Harris BD, Sale C, Boobis LH, Kim CK, Wise JA. (2007). "Influence of beta-alanine supplementation on skeletal muscle carnosine concentrations and high intensity cycling capacity". Amino Acids 32 (2): 225-33. PMID 16868650.
- ^ Encyclopedia of Life Sciences Amino Acid Neurotransmitters Jeremy M Henley, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0000010 Article Online Posting Date: April 19, 2001
Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta-alanine
 |
|
