Carnosine (dipeptide)

check icon Optimal Result: 1 - 32 micromol/g creatinine.

Carnosine (beta-alanyl-L-histidine) is a urinary biomarker which comes from the consumption of beef, pork, and to a lesser extent, poultry.

It is a dipeptide consisting of the amino acids histidine and beta-alanine and is concentrated in skeletal and heart muscle, brain, and kidneys. Carnosine has antioxidant properties, antiglycation effects, enhanced calcium sensitivity, and pH buffering activity during highintensity exercise.

It also has neuroprotective properties and may play an important role in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Carnosine is also protective against secondary diabetic renal complications.

Plasma levels are non-detectable in fasting individuals; after beef consumption, postprandial plasma carnosine levels tend to rise then decrease to non-detectable levels within hours of consumption. In urine, levels reach a peak after 5 hours, but carnosine is completely excreted within 20-25 hours following the meal.

Carnosine has an affinity to chelate zinc, copper, cobalt, nickel and cadmium. The combination of zinc chelated with L-carnosine has been used therapeutically in the treatment of gastric ulcers. Carnosine is measured in FMV urine only.

References:

- Cuparencu C, Pratico G, Hemeryck LY, et al. Biomarkers of meat and seafood intake: an extensive literature review. Genes Nutr. 2019;14:35.

- Cheung W, Keski-Rahkonen P, Assi N, et al. A metabolomic study of biomarkers of meat and fish intake. Am J Clin Nutr. 2017;105(3):600-608.

- Sadikali F, Darwish R, Watson WC. Carnosinase activity of human gastrointestinal mucosa. Gut. 1975;16(8):585-589.

- Derave W, De Courten B, Baba SP. An update on carnosine and anserine research. Amino Acids. 2019;51(1):1-4.

- Bellia F, Vecchio G, Rizzarelli E. Carnosinases, their substrates and diseases. Molecules. 2014;19(2):2299-2329.

- Boldyrev AA, Aldini G, Derave W. Physiology and pathophysiology of carnosine. Physiol Rev. 2013;93(4):1803- 1845.

- Peters V, Klessens CQ, Baelde HJ, et al. Intrinsic carnosine metabolism in the human kidney. Amino Acids. 2015;47(12):2541-2550.

- Perim P, Marticorena FM, Ribeiro F, et al. Can the Skeletal Muscle Carnosine Response to Beta-Alanine Supplementation Be Optimized? Front Nutr. 2019;6:135.

- Hipkiss AR. Would carnosine or a carnivorous diet help suppress aging and associated pathologies? Ann NY Acad Sci. 2006;1067:369-374.

- Hipkiss AR. Carnosine and its possible roles in nutrition and health. Adv Food Nutr Res. 2009;57:87-154.

- Kawahara M, Tanaka KI, Kato-Negishi M. Zinc, Carnosine, and Neurodegenerative Diseases. Nutrients. 2018;10(2).

- Bellia F, Calabrese V, Guarino F, et al. Carnosinase levels in aging brain: redox state induction and cellular stress response. Antiox Redox Signaling. 2009;11(11):2759-2775.

- Everaert I, Taes Y, De Heer E, et al. Low plasma carnosinase activity promotes carnosinemia after carnosine ingestion in humans. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2012;302(12):F1537- 1544.

- Park YJ, Volpe SL, Decker EA. Quantitation of carnosine in humans plasma after dietary consumption of beef. J Agricult Food Chem. 2005;53(12):4736-4739.

- Perim P, Marticorena FM, Ribeiro F, et al. Can the Skeletal Muscle Carnosine Response to Beta-Alanine Supplementation Be Optimized? Front Nutr. 2019;6:135. Accessed 2019

- Everaert I, Taes Y, De Heer E, et al. Low plasma carnosinase activity promotes carnosinemia after carnosine ingestion in humans. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2012;302(12):F1537-F1544.

What does it mean if your Carnosine (dipeptide) result is too high?

Elevations are likely due to high consumption of meat or betaalanine supplementation. Since it is a dipeptide, elevations might also signify incomplete protein digestion. Zinc and manganese are important cofactors for the enzyme carnosinase that splits carnosine into the amino acids histidine and beta-alanine. Functional need for these nutrients can contribute to elevations of carnosine. Lastly, carnosinemia/carnosinuria is a rare inborn error of metabolism caused by a deficiency of the enzyme carnosinase.

All Your Lab Results.
One Simple Dashboard.

What does it mean if your Carnosine (dipeptide) result is too low?

Carnosine can be decreased with low animal protein intake, as seen in vegetarian or vegan diets.

Laboratories

Bring All Your Lab Results Together — In One Place

We accept reports from any lab, so you can easily collect and organize all your health information in one secure spot.

lab corp logo
genova diagnostics logo
quest diagnostics logo
dutch test logo
doctors data logo
vibrant america logo
diagnostic solutions logo
zrt laboratory logo
the great plains laboratory logo
cyrex laboratories logo
spectracell logo

Pricing Table

decoration

Personal plans

$15/ month

Complete Plan

Access your lab reports, explanations, and tracking tools.

  • Import lab results from any provider
  • Track all results with visual tools
  • Customize your reference ranges
  • Export your full lab history anytime
  • Share results securely with anyone
  • Begin with first report entered
  • Cancel or upgrade anytime

$250/ once

Unlimited Account

Pay once, access everything—no monthly fees, no limits.

  • Import lab results from any provider
  • Track all results with visual tools
  • Customize your reference ranges
  • Export your full lab history anytime
  • Share results securely with anyone
  • Receive 10 reports entered for you
  • Skip the $15/month subscription — no recurring payments ever

$45/ month

Pro Monthly

Designed for professionals managing their clients' lab reports

  • Import lab results from any provider
  • Track lab results for multiple clients
  • Customize reference ranges per client
  • Export lab histories and reports
  • Begin with first report entered by us
  • Cancel or upgrade anytime

About membership

What's included in a Healthmatters membership

microscope icon Import Lab Results from Any Source

person icon See Your Health Timeline

book icon Understand What Your Results Mean

textbook icon

textbook icon Visualize Your Results

folder icon

folder icon

card icon Securely Share With Anyone You Trust

Let Your Lab Results Tell the Full Story

What Healthmatters Members Are Saying

5 stars rating

I have been using Healthmatters.io since 2021. I travel all over the world and use different doctors and health facilities. This site has allowed me to consolidate all my various test results over 14 years in one place. And every doctor that I show this to has been impressed. Because with  any health professional I talk to, I can pull up historical results in seconds. It is invaluable. Even going back to the same doctor, they usually do not have the historical results from their facility in a graph format. That has been very helpful.

Anthony

Unlimited Plan Member since 2021

5 stars rating

What fantastic service and great, easy-to-follow layouts! I love your website; it makes it so helpful to see patterns in my health data. It's truly a pleasure to use. I only wish the NHS was as organized and quick as Healthmatters.io. You've set a new standard for health tracking!

Karin

Advanced Plan Member since 2020

5 stars rating

As a PRO member and medical practitioner, Healthmatters.io has been an invaluable tool for tracking my clients' data. The layout is intuitive, making it easy to monitor trends and spot patterns over time. The ability to customize reports and charts helps me present information clearly to my clients, improving communication and outcomes. It's streamlined my workflow, saving me time and providing insights at a glance. Highly recommended for any practitioner looking for a comprehensive and user-friendly solution to track patient labs!

Paul

Healthmatters Pro Member since 2024

Use promo code to save 10% off any plan.

Frequently asked questions

Healthmatters is a personal health dashboard that helps you organize and understand your lab results. It collects and displays your medical test data from any lab in one secure, easy-to-use platform.

  • Individuals who want to track and understand their health over time.
  • Health professionals, such as doctors, nutritionists, and wellness coaches, need to manage and interpret lab data for their clients.

With a Healthmatters account, you can:

  • Upload lab reports from any lab
  • View your data in interactive graphs, tables, and timelines
  • Track trends and monitor changes over time
  • Customize your reference ranges
  • Export and share your full lab history
  • Access your results anytime, from any device

Professionals can also analyze client data more efficiently and save time managing lab reports.

Healthmatters.io personal account provides in-depth research on 4000+ biomarkers, including information and suggestions for test panels such as, but not limited to:

  • The GI Effects® Comprehensive Stool Profile,
  • GI-MAP,
  • The NutrEval FMV®,
  • The ION Profile,
  • Amino Acids Profile,
  • Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones (DUTCH),
  • Organic Acids Test,
  • Organix Comprehensive Profile,
  • Toxic Metals,
  • Complete Blood Count (CBC),
  • Metabolic panel,
  • Thyroid panel,
  • Lipid Panel,
  • Urinalysis,
  • And many, many more.

You can combine all test reports inside your Healthmatters account and keep them in one place. It gives you an excellent overview of all your health data. Once you retest, you can add new results and compare them.

If you are still determining whether Healthmatters support your lab results, the rule is that if you can test it, you can upload it to Healthmatters.

shield icon

We implement proven measures to keep your data safe.

At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.

gdpr compliance image hipaa compliance image