SynthesisFrontiers in nutrition2026
Effects of beta-alanine supplementation on exercise performance and related physiological outcomes in women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in nutrition, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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Abstract
Background: Beta-alanine is widely used as an ergogenic aid in sports nutrition, yet most evidence comes from male or mixed-sex samples. Its effects in women therefore remain unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effects of beta-alanine supplementation on exercise performance and related outcomes in women. Methods: This review followed PRISMA 2020 guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420261362733). PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched from inception to April 30, 2026. Randomized controlled studies in women comparing beta-alanine with placebo or control were included. Outcomes included time to exhaustion (TTE), maximal or peak oxygen uptake, peak power, anaerobic performance, and body fat percentage. RoB 2 and GRADE were used to assess risk of bias and certainty of evidence, respectively. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted using standardized mean differences with 95% confidence intervals. Results: Twelve reports from 11 independent randomized controlled trials involving 312 women were included. Beta-alanine supplementation showed a pooled effect in favor of TTE (8 studies, Conclusion: Beta-alanine supplementation may improve TTE in trials conducted in women, but current evidence does not support clear pooled effects on peak power, anaerobic performance, VO₂max and VO₂peak, or body fat percentage. Overall, these findings suggest an outcome-specific response pattern, although confidence in the evidence remains limited because of the small evidence base and very low certainty across outcomes. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420261362733, identifier PROSPERO (CRD420261362733).
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