Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of a health claim related to beta-alanine and increase in physical performance during short-duration, high-intensity exercise pursuant to Article 13(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006

Abstract

Following an application from Natural Alternative International, Inc. (NAI), submitted pursuant to Article 13(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1924 via the Competent Authority of the United Kingdom, the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) was asked to deliver an opinion on the scientific substantiation of a health claim related to beta-alanine and increase in physical performance during short-duration, high-intensity exercise. The food constituent that is the subject of the claim is beta-alanine, which is sufficiently characterised. The Panel considers that an increase in physical performance during short-duration, high-intensity exercise is a beneficial physiological effect. In weighing the evidence the Panel took into account that only one out of 11 pertinent human intervention studies (including 14 pertinent outcomes) from which conclusions could be drawn showed an effect of beta-alanine on physical performance during short-duration, high intensity exercise. The Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of betaalanine and an increase in physical performance during short-duration, high intensity exercise. The scope of the application was proposed to fall under a health claim based on newly developed scientific evidence. The application includes a request for the protection of proprietary data.The food constituent that is the subject of the health claim is beta-alanine. The Panel considers that beta-alanine is sufficiently characterised.The claimed effect proposed by the applicant is "increases performance during short-duration high intensity exercise". The target population proposed by the applicant is "healthy adults between 19 and 71 years of age involved in intense muscular activity". The Panel considers that an increase in physical performance during short-duration, high-intensity exercise is a beneficial physiological effect.The applicant identified four human intervention studies which investigated the effect of beta-alanine on physical performance during short-duration, high-intensity exercise and which also reported on muscle carnosine as being pertinent to the claim. EFSA informed the applicant that all available studies on the effects of beta-alanine on physical performance (claimed effect) which did and did not report on muscle carnosine stores (proposed mechanism for the effect) will be used in the scientific evaluation of the claim. Therefore, 13 additional human studies which claimed to investigate the effect of beta-alanine on physical performance during short-duration, high-intensity exercise were used by EFSA. The Panel notes that eight of these studies assessed measures of physical capacity (e.g. time to exhaustion, and/or total work done during trials with no time limitation and/or physical working capacity at fatigue threshold) and did not include any measures of physical performance. The Panel considers that these eight studies were not pertinent for the scientific substantiation of the claim on physical perf...

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