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

Abstract

Because of its role in the transport of fatty acids from cytosol into mitochondrion, the consumption of L-carnitine became popular among athletes, and/or as a mass 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 did not induce statistically significant changes in blood serum concentrations of glucose, triacylglycerols, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and creatinine, nor affected the activity of analysed enzymes (AST, ALT, LDH, and CK). The only observed effect was a decrease in the concentration of free fatty acids in the serum from 0.439 mmol dm–3 at the beginning to 0.279 mmol dm–3 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