NCT05329610: BASA-O

β-alanine Supplementation in Adults With Overweight/Obesity

Completed NA Last updated 1 September 2023

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Beta-alanine in Prediabetes in 30 participants. Completed in 20 July 2023.

Timeline

5 April 2022

Primary endpoint
20 July 2023

20 July 2023

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Nottingham Trent University
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	triple
Primary purpose	other
Enrollment	30
Start date	5 April 2022
Primary completion	20 July 2023
Estimated completion	20 July 2023
Sites	2 locations across United Kingdom

Drugs / interventions tested

• Beta-alanine — full drug profile →
• Placebo

Conditions studied

• Prediabetes — all drugs for Prediabetes →
• Hyperglycemia — all drugs for Hyperglycemia →
• Overweight or Obesity — all drugs for Overweight or Obesity →

Sponsor

Nottingham Trent University

Who can join

Adults 18 to 75, any sex, with Prediabetes or Hyperglycemia. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

The study will investigate the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of beta-alanine supplementation in adults with overweight or obesity. Beta-alanine is a widely used dietary supplement that can increase the amount of carnosine in skeletal muscle. Both carnosine and beta-alanine occur naturally in animal food products and previous research shows that supplementation with beta-alanine leads to an improvement in exercise performance; more recently, the present investigators have shown that increasing carnosine can also help to improve cardiometabolic health, detoxify skeletal muscle, and improve glucose (sugar) uptake into muscle cells.

The investigators will recruit 30 participants (15 per arm) with overweight or obesity who meet the study criteria (this accounts for up to 20% attrition - a minimum of 12 participants per arm). Those who are eligible will be required to receive three short telephone calls and attend three laboratory sessions. Participants will be randomised to receive either beta-alanine or placebo (an inactive sugar pill) for the 3-month study period.

To see whether beta-alanine supplementation is feasible in this population the investigators will measure recruitment, adherence (how well people can stick to the supplement regime), the number and nature of side effects, and blinding to the intervention. Markers of cardiac function, glycaemic control, and metabolic health will also be explored. All measurements will take place before and after a 3-month supplementation period. This will provide us with novel information of the role of beta-alanine and carnosine in cardiometabolic health; and will aid in the planning of a larger randomised controlled trial to assess the efficacy of beta-alanine supplementation as a therapeutic strategy.

Publications & conference data

2 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. β-alanine supplementation in adults with overweight and obesity: a randomized controlled feasibility trial.
   Matthews JJ, Creighton JV, Donaldson J, Swinton PA, et al · · 2025 · cited 2× · PMID 39800667 · DOI 10.1002/oby.24204
2. Amphibians as a source of bioactive antioxidant peptides: Emerging insights and therapeutic potential.
   Zhu YY, Zhao LM, Jia XY, Liao GJ, et al · · 2025 · PMID 41017405 · DOI 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2025.127