Carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) and its methylated analogues anserine and balenine are highly concentrated endogenous dipeptides in mammalian skeletal muscle that are implicated in exercise performance. Balenine has a much better bioavailability and stability in human circulation upon acute ingestion, compared to carnosine and anserine. Therefore, ergogenic effects observed with acute carnosine and anserine supplementation may be even more pronounced with balenine. This study investigated whether acute balenine supplementation improves physical performance in four maximal and submaximal exercise modalities. A total of 20 healthy, active volunteers (14 males; six females) performed cycling sprints, maximal isometric contractions, a 4-km TT and 20-km TT following either preexercise placebo or 10 mg/kg of balenine ingestion. Physical, as well as mental performance, along with acid–base balance and glucose concentration were assessed. Balenine was unable to augment peak power (p = .3553), peak torque (p = .3169), time to complete the 4 km (p = .8566), nor 20 km time trial (p = .2660). None of the performances were correlated with plasma balenine or CN1 enzyme activity. In addition, no effect on pH, bicarbonate, and lactate was observed. Also, the supplement did not affect mental performance. In contrast, glucose remained higher during and after the 20 km time trial following balenine ingestion. In conclusion, these results overall indicate that the functionality of balenine does not fully resemble that of carnosine and anserine, since it was unable to elicit performance improvements with similar and even higher plasma concentrations.

肌肽（β-丙氨酰-L-histidine) 及其甲基化类似物 anserine 和 balenine 是哺乳动物骨骼肌中高度浓缩的内源性二肽，与运动表现有关。与肌肽和鹅肌肽相比，Balenine 在急性摄入后在人体循环中具有更好的生物利用度和稳定性。因此，使用急性肌肽和鹅肌肽补充剂观察到的增效作用可能在使用 balenine 时更为明显。本研究调查了急性 balenine 补充剂是否能改善四种最大和次最大运动方式的身体表现。共有 20 名健康、活跃的志愿者（14 名男性；6 名女性）在运动前服用安慰剂或摄入 10 mg/kg balenine 后进行自行车冲刺、最大等长收缩、4 公里 TT 和 20 公里 TT。身体和心理表现，评估酸碱平衡和葡萄糖浓度。Balenine 无法增加峰值功率（p  = .3553)、峰值扭矩 ( p  = .3169)、完成 4 公里的时间 ( p  = .8566) 或 20 公里计时赛 ( p  = .2660)。这些表现均与血浆马来宁或 CN1 酶活性无关。此外，未观察到对 pH、碳酸氢盐和乳酸盐的影响。此外，补充剂不会影响心理表现。相比之下，在摄入 balenine 后的 20 公里计时赛期间和之后，葡萄糖仍然较高。总之，这些结果总体上表明 balenine 的功能并不完全类似于肌肽和鹅肌肽的功能，因为它无法在相似甚至更高的血浆浓度下引起性能改善。