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Carnosine supplementation reduces plasma soluble transferrin receptor in healthy overweight or obese individuals: a pilot randomised trial
Plain-language guide to PMID 30136029 (2019): placebo-controlled randomized controlled trial study of Carnosine in 26 participants.
Key Facts
- PMID
- 30136029
- Journal
- Amino acids
- Year
- 2019
- Study type
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Authors
- Baye E et al. (9 authors)
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00726-018-2623-6
What This Study Did, in Plain Language
What Was Tested
The paper reports a study of Carnosine, published as a randomized controlled trial.
The researchers aimed to determine whether carnosine supplementation has an effect on iron parameters in overweight and obese, otherwise healthy adults.
Why It Was Studied
Abnormalities of iron homeostasis have been linked to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Yet, the impact of carnosine on markers of iron metabolism in humans has not been investigated.
Who Took Part
According to the abstract, 26 participants were involved.
By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.
How the Study Was Run
In design terms this was a randomized, placebo-controlled and pilot study.
Because people in this Carnosine study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.
A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Carnosine group a baseline to be compared against.
It is described as a pilot, a small early test of whether a larger Carnosine study would be practical.
Iron parameters including iron, ferritin, transferrin, soluble transferrin receptor, total iron binding capacity and iron saturation were measured in serum or plasma by standard commercial assays.
What Was Measured
The subject headings attached to it are Biomarkers, Blood Glucose, Carnosine, Chelating Agents, Dietary Supplements, Ferritins and Insulin Resistance.
Author keywords: Iron metabolism, Soluble transferrin receptor and Type 2 diabetes.
What This Means in Plain Language
The paper is a randomized, placebo-controlled and pilot study of Carnosine in 26 participants.
With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.
The publication is from 2019 (Amino acids), a journal based in Austria.
More context: the Carnosine compound page, all human trials.
Our Notes on the Compound
Carnosine: A dipeptide of beta-alanine and histidine found in muscle and brain; studied as a supplement in human trials.
Related Pages
Source: PubMed record. This explanation is written by PeptideWhiz from the public record. For research and education only. Not medical advice; no dosing information is given.