Effect of L-Carnitine Supplementation on Some Biochemical Parameters in Blood Serum of Sedentary Population

Abstract

Because of its role in a transport of fatty acids from cytosol into mitochondrion, a consumption of L-carnitine became popular among athletes, and/or as a weight loss supplement. In an attempt to obtain more data on the effect of L-carnitine supplementation on some biochemical parameters in blood serum, a double-blind, placebo-controlled study was carried. Healthy volunteers with declared sedentary activities received 2 g/day of either L-carnitine or placebo for 2 weeks. L-carnitine administration induced no statistically significant changes in blood serum concentrations of glucose, triacylglycerols, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and creatinine, neither affected the activity of analysed enzymes (AST, ALT, LDH, and CK). The only observed effect was a decline in the concentration of free fatty acids in serum from 0.439 mmol/L at the beginning to 0.279 mmol/L at the end of the experiment. Body mass reduction was not achieved. We conclude that L-carnitine supplementation cannot be used for body mass reduction per se, but might be involved in energy utilisation.