Carnosine is a naturally occurring dipeptide found in meat. Alternatively it can be formed through synthesis from the amino acids, β-alanine and L-histidine. Carnosine has long been advocated for use as an anti-oxidant and anti-glycating agent to facilitate healthy ageing, and there have also been reports of it having anti-proliferative effects that have beneficial actions against the development of a number of different cancers. Carnosine is able to undertake multiple molecular processes, and it's mechanism of action therefore remains controversial - both in healthy tissues and those associated with cancer or metabolic diseases. Here we review current understanding of its mechanistic role in different physiological contexts, and how this relates to cancer. Carnosine turns over rapidly in the body due to the presence of both serum and tissue carnosinase enzymes however, so its use as a dietary supplement would require ingestion of multiple daily doses. Strategies are therefore being developed that are based upon either resistance of carnosine analogs to enzymatic turnover, or else β-alanine supplementation, and the development of these potential therapeutic agents is discussed.

肌肽是一种天然存在于肉类中的二肽。或者，它可以通过由氨基酸、β-丙氨酸和 L-组氨酸合成而形成。长期以来，人们一直提倡将肌肽用作抗氧化剂和抗糖化剂以促进健康衰老，并且也有报道称它具有抗增殖作用，对多种不同癌症的发展具有有益作用。肌肽能够进行多个分子过程，因此它的作用机制仍然存在争议——无论是在健康组织中还是在与癌症或代谢疾病相关的组织中。在这里，我们回顾了当前对其在不同生理环境中的机制作用的理解，以及这与癌症的关系。然而，由于血清和组织肌肽酶的存在，肌肽在体内迅速翻转，因此将其用作膳食补充剂需要每天摄入多个剂量。因此，正在开发基于肌肽类似物对酶促转换的抗性或 β-丙氨酸补充剂的策略，并讨论了这些潜在治疗剂的开发。