Journal of Food Bioactives, ISSN 2637-8752 print, 2637-8779 online
Journal website www.isnff-jfb.com

Review

Volume 5, March 2019, pages 8-17

Carnosine—a natural bioactive dipeptide: bioaccessibility, bioavailability and health benefits

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1. Chemical structure of carnosine (β-alanine-L-histidine) and its naturally occurring derivatives (adapted from Boldyrev et al., 2013).
Figure 2.
Figure 2. Proposed mechanisms of carnosine uptake by enterocytes. Carnosine uptake is mediated by the proton-dependent peptide transporter PepT1. It is subsequently hydrolyzed within the enterocyte by tissue carnosinase (CN2) or transported intact into the blood where it is hydrolyzed by serum carnosinase (CN1) into its substituents β-alanine and L-histidine. (adapted from Boldyrev et al., 2013).
Figure 3.
Figure 3. Serum concentration of carnosine in subjects post-consumption of 200 mg cooked ground beef containing 134 mg/g tissue (cooked) of carnosine (adapted from Park et al., 2005).

Tables

Table 1. Carnosine contents in raw meat extract obtained from different kind of species
 
Type of extractCarnosine concentration (mg/g)Reference
Beef5.8∼7.12Marcolini et al., 2015
Pork0.13∼4.19Mora et al., 2008
Horse1.22∼4.07Abe, 2000
Lamb7.06Jones et al., 2011
Rabbit3.6∼4.6Peiretti and Meineri, 2015
Chicken0.66∼1.83Jung et al., 2013
Turkey0.86∼7.9Gil-Agustí et al., 2008, Peiretti et al., 2012
Duck0.14∼0.16Lee et al., 2015
Lobster0.1Kantha et al., 2000
Prawn9.25∼11.6Preedy, 2015
Tuna5.29Jones et al., 2011
Mackerel7.78Jones et al., 2011
Rainbow Trout0.11Jones et al., 2011
Bonito (katsuo)5.0∼7.9Kantha et al.,2000
Conger eel (hamo)0.2Kantha et al., 2000

 

Table 2. Biological activity of carnosine defined by in vitro and in vivo studies
 
Bioactive activityExperimental ModelObserved effectsReference
Anti-oxidantChemical detectionInactivate free radicals;Metal-chelating, such as copper;Conjugating with potentially toxic aldehydic lipid oxidation productsDecker et al., 2000
Cerebellum granule cells↓ROS signal;↓Excitotoxic effect of N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA)Boldyrev et al., 2004
Rat↓Lactate dehydrogenasePark et al., 2005
Wistar rats and Mongolian gerbils↓Lipid peroxidation of brain membrane; ↑Resistance of neuronal membranes under oxidation; ↓malonyl dialdehyde (MDA)Dobrota et al., 2005
Chemical detectionMetal-chelating;↓Lipid peroxidationDerave et al., 2010
Colon cancer cells↓ROS; ↓ERK1/2 phosphorylation; ↓ProliferationIovine et al., 2012
Sprague-Dawley male rats↓Oxidative stress; Restores the histopathological and biochemical signs; ↓Apoptotic conditionAydin et al., 2015
Mice↑Glutathione peroxidase (GPX), Superoxide dismutase (SOD), and Catalase;↓ MDA ; ↓Reactive oxygen speciesTsai et al., 2010
Recreationally-active men volunteer↑GSH ↑CAT, PRX2, SOD1, and TRX1Varanoske et al., 2017
Broiler chickens↑Antioxidant enzymes; ↓MDA and carbonyl compoundsCong et al., 2017
Wistar rats↑CAT,SOD and total antioxidant capacity (TAC)Hasanein and Felegari, 2017
Cirrhotic rats↑Locomotor activity; ↓ROS formation; ↓Liver TBARS; ↑GSH in liver; ↓ Protein carbonylation; ↓Liver fibrogenesis; ↓ LiverfailureJamshidzadeh et al., 2017
Human erythrocytes and lymphocytes↓Oxidative damage; Restores enzyme activities and antioxidant powerHusain and Mahmood, 2017
Anti-glycationChemical detection↑Glyc3P-induced loss of enzyme activity; ↓Protein modificationSeidler, 2000
Human Peritoneal Mesothelial Cells (HPMC)↑HPMC viability; ↓Advanced glycation end products (AGE) complications; Protection cellular protein from modification;Alhamdani et al., 2007
E. coli K-12 Strains↑Cell viability;↓Glycation; ↓Methylglyoxal toxicityPepper et al., 2010
Gray chinchilla rabbits↓Gycation-induced diabetic cataractBabizhayev et al., 2012
Human lens epithelial cell models↓Glycosylated damage; ↑Lens cell viabilityAbdelkader et al., 2016
Aged rats↓AGE and MDA; ↓Protein carbonyl and advanced oxidized protein productsBingül et al., 2017
Anti-inflammatoryCaco-2 cells↓IL-8 secretionSon et al., 2008
Male Balb/cA mice↓c-reactive protein (CRP), IL-6 tumor and TNF-αLiu et al., 2008
Balb/cA mice↓IL-6, TNF-α, and MCP-1Yan et al., 2009
Mice↓TNF-α and IL-6 levelsTsai et al., 2010
Elderly people↓MCP-1 and IL-8Hisatsune et al., 2016
Sepsis-induced male albino rats.↓IL-β, TNF-α, and IL-8;↑IκBα; ↓p65 and p-IKKα/β (Ser 180/Ser 181); ↓Lung InjurySun et al., 2017
Human cancer cell line HepG2↓PI3K and Akt ; ↑Caspase-8 ; ↓Proliferation; ↑apoptosisLiu et al., 2017
Wistar rats↓TNF-α and IL-6 levelsHasanein and Felegari, 2017