LactiGo research: what the studies show, and what they do not
Four studies cover LactiGo or its carnosine gel. Here is each one in plain English, with what it shows and what it does not.
The short version
The strongest study is a 2025 triple-blind trial on 7 world-class rugby sevens players, run by New Zealand sports scientists and published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. Players produced more peak power with the gel than with a placebo, with significant gains in 3 of 12 sprints. Two lab studies show the gel moves carnosine through skin (a 3D human skin model) and into muscle (racehorses). A 2016 report on 11 elite footballers found small gains but had no placebo group.
Nobody has yet measured carnosine in human muscle after applying the gel. The human evidence is early and the samples are small. That is the honest position in October 2026. It is also why LactiGo's 30-day guarantee matters: you can test it on yourself at their risk.
Test it yourself, at LactiGo's risk
Order one tube. If it is not for you, email LactiGo within 30 days of your first order and they refund the product price. You keep the tube. No form, no return. The guarantee in plain words.
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Australia and New Zealand
USA
Canada
México1. World-class rugby sevens: the strongest trial so far
What they did
Seven world-class rugby sevens players (1,452 international caps between them), triple-blind, counterbalanced crossover. Each applied 10 mL of carnosine gel or an ultrasound placebo gel 40 minutes before a cycle protocol of 12 six-second maximal sprints with short rests and a two-minute half-time.
What they found
Peak power was higher with the gel across the session (p < 0.001 for treatment) and significantly higher in sprint 2 (1,433 vs 1,332 W), sprint 4 (1,347 vs 1,244 W), and sprint 7 (1,426 vs 1,270 W). Average power, heart rate, and perceived effort did not differ.
What it does not show
Seven people is a small sample, even if they are the best in the world. Muscle carnosine was not measured, so the mechanism is unproven. The effect was on peak power in some sprints, not on the whole session. The same work was presented as a University of Waikato master's thesis (Brockelbank, 2024). New Zealand's sports science community ran it; LactiGo's site describes it as the All Blacks study.
2. Skin model: does carnosine get through the skin?
What they did
Applied three gels to a reconstructed human epidermis (a lab-grown 3D skin model): the carnosine-magnesium complex used in LactiGo (see the ingredients), free carnosine in the same base, and the magnesium salt alone. They measured how much carnosine passed through into the fluid underneath after 24 and 48 hours.
What they found
The carnosine-magnesium complex delivered about 1.5 times more carnosine through the skin model than free carnosine did. The authors call the work preliminary.
What it does not show
This is a lab model, not a person. It shows carnosine can cross the skin barrier. It says nothing about muscle or performance. The study was funded by the company that supplied the formulations.
3. Racehorses: does carnosine reach the muscle?
What they did
Ten Thoroughbred racehorses, randomised, placebo-controlled crossover. The gel was applied over the middle gluteal muscle and muscle samples were taken at 30, 60, and 120 minutes.
What they found
Muscle carnosine was about 35% higher than placebo at 30 minutes and 46% higher at 60 minutes. The 120-minute result was not statistically significant. Responses varied a lot between horses: some rose 200% or more, others barely changed.
What it does not show
Horses are not people, and horse muscle carries more carnosine to begin with. No performance test was run. This is the only study so far that measured carnosine inside muscle after applying the gel.
4. Elite footballers: the first human test
What they did
Eleven elite male footballers did a Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test and a 3 x 1,000 m run, once with a warm-up cream and once with the cream plus LactiGo applied 45 minutes before. Three days between trials. Nobody was blinded and there was no placebo.
What they found
Yo-Yo distance improved by 84 m (about 1%). The 3 x 1,000 m run was 9 seconds faster (about 4%).
What it does not show
Without a placebo or blinding, practice effects and expectation could explain the gains. The menthol in the US gel may have played a part. One author is connected to the product. LactiGo's own site describes this as its AC Milan study; the report itself does not name the club.
The background science: carnosine and beta-alanine
Carnosine is a small molecule your body makes from two amino acids, beta-alanine and histidine. Muscle stores it, and fast-twitch muscle stores the most. In the lab it buffers acid, mops up some reactive molecules, and binds metals. That is why sports scientists are interested in it.
The usual way to raise muscle carnosine is to swallow beta-alanine for weeks. A 2017 systematic review and meta-analysis of 40 studies (Saunders et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, PubMed 27797728) found a small average benefit for efforts lasting 30 seconds to 10 minutes. Oral beta-alanine also causes a tingling feeling in many people.
LactiGo's idea is to skip the weeks of loading by putting carnosine on the skin over the muscle you are about to use. Whether that works in people as well as it does in horses is the open question the studies above are circling. LactiGo vs beta-alanine on the FAQ has more.
LactiGo's research company, The Carnosine Lab, keeps a library of 51 carnosine papers, most of them on oral carnosine or beta-alanine, in cells, animals, or people. They are about the molecule, not the gel. Read them for background, not as proof of what a tube does.
A separate library of the carnosine research, more than 300 studies in humans, horses, dogs, cats, and the laboratory, each with its design, size, and limits, is at carnosine.tv. I publish that site too. It sells nothing and recommends nothing. The horse and rugby studies above have their own entries there.
The patent
The formulation is covered by US Patent 10,973,868, "Composition for topical use based on a carnosine-magnesium complex", granted April 2021 to Outplay Inc. (LactiGo's parent company). Inventors: Chad Macias, Tim Sharpe, Massimo Ferrari. It claims a topical composition with 0.5% to 5% carnosine-magnesium complex, in gel, cream, lotion, or spray form, with a skin penetration enhancer. Read it on Google Patents. A patent protects an idea; it does not prove the idea works.
Drug testing
LactiGo is Informed Sport certified. Every batch is tested for substances banned in sport using ISO 17025 accredited methods, and the live listing is at sport.wetestyoutrust.com. Carnosine is not on the WADA prohibited list. More on the FAQ.
What this means for you
If you want a product proven in large human trials, that product does not exist yet for topical carnosine. The evidence is a strong lab story, one good small trial in elite athletes, and one uncontrolled report in footballers.
If you want to find out whether it does anything for you, the cheapest experiment is one tube. Use it before the same session for a month, keep your usual numbers, and decide. LactiGo refunds the product price within 30 days of your first order if you decide no. The guarantee in plain words.
I sell this product and earn a commission. I have tried to describe each study the way its authors did, including the limits they named themselves. If you find an error or a study I have missed, tell me and I will fix the page.
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Order one tube from LactiGo AustraliaStudies checked 23 October 2026. This page describes published research. It does not claim LactiGo will do the same for you. Not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.