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Carnosine

Supplement dipeptide fitnessgeneral nutrition
Aka: L-carnosine, beta-alanyl-L-histidine
Brands seen in Singapore: California Gold Nutrition, Doctor's Best, Terra Origin, NOW Foods, Life Extension
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
Endurance rose in some groups; grip strength did not
Pros & cons
Pros
  • 2 g/day for 6–12 weeks in a 299-person trial
  • Raised carnosine ~2-fold in blood, ~7-fold in urine
  • The most well-powered carnosine performance trial
Cons
  • Gains sat mainly with males over 40, not everyone
  • Oral carnosine is digested into its amino acids
  • No change in grip strength or most other measures
Sources
  1. Effects of carnosine supplementation on physical endurance: a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial (O'Toole et al., JISSN 2026) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “In select age groups, carnosine supplementation improves muscular and cardiorespiratory endurance but not grip strength. The benefits appeared to be limited to males.”
  2. NIH ODS — Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance (Health Professional) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “oral consumption of carnosine is an inefficient method of increasing muscle carnosine concentrations because the dipeptide is digested into its constituent amino acids”
  3. HSA — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in Health Supplements and Traditional Medicines (Oct 2025), Annex A · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “A list of specific prohibited and restricted ingredients is provided in Annex A … This list is not exhaustive. Dealers are responsible to ensure that their products are safe and appropriate for the target consumers.”
  4. HSA — Health Supplements Guidelines (Jan 2026), Tables 4–5 · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “HS for use by the general adult population should not contain vitamins and minerals exceeding the stipulated limits stated in Tables 4 and 5.”
  5. iHerb Singapore — Carnosine category page, default order (1 - 41 of 41 results) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “California Gold Nutrition, Zinc-L-Carnosine Complex … Doctor's Best, PepZin GI®, Zinc-L-Carnosine … Terra Origin, Healthy Gut™, Berry … NOW Foods, Gastro Comfort™ with PepZin GI™ … Life Extension, Gastro-Ease™”
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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.