Home › Peptides A to Z › L-CarnitineWhat is L-Carnitine? An amino acid derivative that carries fatty acids into mitochondria for energy production.
L-Carnitine in the library · Metabolic & Weight Peptides · Human Trials · What are peptides?
175 registered trials · 499 indexed papers · 2770 human / 2979 animal studies
From the PeptideWhiz library entry. "As described" sections summarize claims made in the sources; they are not PeptideWhiz endorsements.
What it is L-Carnitine is described as an amino acid derivative essential for fatty acid transport into mitochondria, where it facilitates β-oxidation and energy production. It is a quaternary ammonium compound made in the body from lysine and methionine.
Mechanism (as described) It acts as an obligate cofactor for the carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) enzyme system, which shuttles long-chain fatty acids across the inner mitochondrial membrane for β-oxidation, a process described as essential for ATP production from fats. Registered human trials (175) Peer-reviewed studies (499) Paper Authors Journal Year Type Effectiveness of L-Carnitine for the Treatment of Erythropoietin-Resistant Renal Anemia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Trial Reuter SE et al. Journal of renal nutrition : the official journal of the Council on Renal Nutrition of the National Kidney Foundation 2026 Randomized Controlled Trial Impact of famotidine on blood carnitine levels and L-carnitine supplementation dose in tube-fed patients with severe motor and intellectual disabilities Sato N et al. Die Pharmazie 2025 Observational Study L-carnitine as a novel approach for pain and inflammation relief in rheumatoid arthritis Eldisouky AA et al. Inflammopharmacology 2025 Randomized Controlled Trial Impact of L-carnitine supplementation on post-transplant outcomes in liver transplant candidates with sarcopenia: A randomized controlled open-label trial El-Razek Salama MA et al. Clinical nutrition ESPEN 2025 Randomized Controlled Trial Acute L-Carnitine Supplementation Does Not Improve CrossFit(®) Performance: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study Devrim-Lanpir A et al. Nutrients 2025 Randomized Controlled Trial Efficacy of levocarnitine combined with tadalafil in treating oligozoospermia and asthenozoospermia: effects on serum sex hormones and sexual function Zhou X et al. Hormones (Athens, Greece) 2025 Randomized Controlled Trial Adding L-Carnitine and Selenium to Methimazole in Graves' Disease: A Prospective Randomized Trial on Thyroid Markers and Quality of Life Rossi M et al. Nutrients 2025 Randomized Controlled Trial Unlocking Relief: Investigating the Impact of a Fixed Combination of Acetyl-L-Carnitine and Palmitoylethanolamide on Traumatic Acute Low Back Pain Cominacini M et al. European journal of neurology 2025 Observational Study l-Carnitine and Alpha-Lipoic Acid Fail to Improve Anaerobic and Aerobic Performance in Trained Cyclists Despite a Reduction in Blood Lactate Concentration de Rozas A et al. Nutrients 2025 Randomized Controlled Trial Effect of levocarnitine plus iron sucrose on nutritional status and life cycle in uremic patients with renal anemia Ren L et al. Pakistan journal of pharmaceutical sciences 2025 Randomized Controlled Trial L-Carnitine to Reduce Chemoradiotherapy-Induced Toxicity in Head and Neck Cancer: A Randomized Study Puja K et al. Head & neck 2025 Randomized Controlled Trial The effects of concurrent alpha-linolenic acid, L-carnitine supplementation on clinical symptoms, mental health, and quality of life in women with migraine: a randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial Golpour-Hamedani S et al. Nutrition journal 2025 Randomized Controlled Trial Modulatory Effects of Multi-species/Multi-strain Synbiotic and L-carnitine Concomitant Supplementation on Atherogenic-Indices, Body Composition, Visceral Obesity, and Appetite in Metabolically Healthy Women with Obesity: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Fallah F et al. Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins 2025 Randomized Controlled Trial Epididymal sonographic findings in infertile males with isolated asthenozoospermia and their correlation with seminal plasma l-carnitine: An observational study ElShibany AM et al. Urologia 2025 Observational Study Impact of L-carnitine supplementation on gastric emptying and bowel function in pediatric ketogenic diet therapy: a clinical trial Nassar MF et al. Scientific reports 2024 Randomized Controlled Trial Investigating the effects of co-supplementation with alpha-linolenic acid and L-carnitine on inflammatory status, oxidative stress, clinical symptoms, mental health and quality of life in women with migraine: a protocol for a randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial Golpour-Hamedani S et al. Trials 2024 Clinical Study Assessing the efficacy of a novel sperm-washing medium enriched with serotonin, L-carnitine, and coenzyme Q10: an observational cohort study Dogan S et al. Asian journal of andrology 2024 Observational Study L-carnitine decreases myocardial injury in children undergoing open-heart surgery: A randomized controlled trial El Feky W et al. European journal of pediatrics 2024 Randomized Controlled Trial The effects of L-carnitine supplementation on inflammation, oxidative stress, and clinical outcomes in critically Ill patients with sepsis: a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial Keshani M et al. Nutrition journal 2024 Randomized Controlled Trial Effects of L-Carnitine Supplementation on the Rate of Weight Gain and Biomarkers of Environmental Enteric Dysfunction in Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Alam J et al. The Journal of nutrition 2024 Randomized Controlled Trial Adding L-carnitine to antagonist ovarian stimulation doesn't improve the outcomes of IVF/ ICSI cycle in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome: a double-blind randomized clinical trial Hafezi M et al. Journal of ovarian research 2024 Randomized Controlled Trial Effects of L-Carnitine and Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation on Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Men with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: A Randomized, Controlled, Clinical Trial Norouzi M et al. Nutrition and cancer 2024 Randomized Controlled Trial l -carnitine adjunct to risperidone for treatment of autism spectrum disorder-associated behaviors: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial Nasiri M et al. International clinical psychopharmacology 2024 Randomized Controlled Trial A prospective study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of vitamin E and levocarnitine prophylaxis against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in adult breast cancer patients Moustafa I et al. Journal of oncology pharmacy practice : official publication of the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners 2024 Randomized Controlled Trial [Compound Amino Acid Capsule (8-11) combined with L-carnitine for the treatment of asthenospermia] Liang M et al. Zhonghua nan ke xue = National journal of andrology 2023 Randomized Controlled Trial Combined Rehabilitation with Alpha Lipoic Acid, Acetyl-L-Carnitine, Resveratrol, and Cholecalciferolin Discogenic Sciatica in Young People: A Randomized Clinical Trial Scaturro D et al. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) 2023 Randomized Controlled Trial Ameliorating effects of L-carnitine and synbiotic co-supplementation on anthropometric measures and cardiometabolic traits in women with obesity: a randomized controlled clinical trial Fallah F et al. Frontiers in endocrinology 2023 Randomized Controlled Trial Kidney function as a key driver of the pharmacokinetic response to high-dose L-carnitine in septic shock Jennaro TS et al. Pharmacotherapy 2023 Randomized Controlled Trial Retrospective observational study on the use of acetyl-L-carnitine in ALS Sassi S et al. Journal of neurology 2023 Observational Study Palmitoylethanolamide and acetyl-L-carnitine act synergistically with duloxetine and pregabalin in fibromyalgia: results of a randomised controlled study Salaffi F et al. Clinical and experimental rheumatology 2023 Randomized Controlled Trial
More cited research L-carnitine, a friend or foe for cardiovascular disease? A Mendelian randomization study (2022, human observational)The use of an in-vitro batch fermentation (human colon) model for investigating mechanisms of TMA production from choline, L-carnitine and related precursors by (2021, human observational)Acetyl-L-carnitine in painful peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review (2019, human RCT)L-Carnitine Reduces Oxidative Stress and Promotes Cells Differentiation and Bone Matrix Proteins Expression in Human Osteoblast-Like Cells (2019, human observational)L-carnitine alleviates cardiac microvascular dysfunction in diabetic cardiomyopathy by enhancing PINK1-Parkin-dependent mitophagy through the CPT1a-PHB2-PARL pa (2023, animal)Medium-chain fatty acid oxidation is independent of l-carnitine in liver and kidney but not in heart and skeletal muscle (2023, animal)Dietary l-carnitine supplementation recovers the increased pH and hardness in fillets caused by high-fat diet in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) (2022, animal)Effect of addition of l-carnitine to cryopreservation extender on rabbit post-thaw semen parameters, antioxidant capacity, mitochondrial function, apoptosis and (2022, animal)Conditions researched Atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease & high blood pressure Dementia, Alzheimer's & cognitive decline Heart repair: after heart attack, heart failure & enlarged heart High cholesterol and statins Insulin resistance, prediabetes & type 2 diabetes Lipedema Acne Anemia Anti-aging & longevity Autism support Bell's palsy Carpal tunnel Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity Chronic and systemic inflammation Chronic fatigue syndrome and ME Chronic pain: fibromyalgia & CRPS Cognition, focus & brain performance Concussion, traumatic brain injury & stroke recovery Delayed gastric emptying on GLP-1 medicines EBV and reactivated viruses Eyes: macular degeneration & retinal health Fat loss, obesity & body recomposition Fatigue & low energy (incl. midlife) Fatty liver & elevated liver enzymes Female fertility Gut: IBD (Crohn's, colitis), leaky gut, IBS & ulcers High-demand jobs: military, fire, police, EMT (and combat-sport athletes) Immune system (general) Kidney protection (CKD, diabetic kidney, lupus kidney) Low blood pressure and orthostatic hypotension Low testosterone (without or alongside TRT) Lung health, asthma & COPD Male fertility and sperm Migraine Mitochondrial dysfunction Multiple sclerosis Muscle gain, sarcopenia & building muscle after 40 Muscle disease (myopathy) Neuropathy and CRPS Osteoarthritis, cartilage loss & avoiding joint replacement Osteoporosis and bone density Pancreatitis (after the acute phase) PCOS Post-surgical inflammation and surgery recovery POTS and dysautonomia Prostate inflammation Rheumatoid arthritis Sexual function & libido (women and men) Sleep apnea (obstructive) Sleep problems (incl. insomnia on peptides) Thyroid problems Tinnitus Related compounds FAQ What is L-Carnitine? An amino acid derivative that carries fatty acids into mitochondria for energy production.
How many registered human trials study L-Carnitine? The PeptideWhiz trial index lists 175 registered trials for L-Carnitine, the most recent from 2026.
How much published research exists on L-Carnitine? The PeptideWhiz paper index links 499 PubMed papers to L-Carnitine; by study type, 2770 human and 2979 animal studies.
Which conditions is L-Carnitine researched for? Atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease & high blood pressure, Dementia, Alzheimer's & cognitive decline, Heart repair: after heart attack, heart failure & enlarged heart, High cholesterol and statins, Insulin resistance, prediabetes & type 2 diabetes, Lipedema, Acne, Anemia, Anti-aging & longevity, Autism support, Bell's palsy, Carpal tunnel, Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, Chronic and systemic inflammation, Chronic fatigue syndrome and ME, Chronic pain: fibromyalgia & CRPS, Cognition, focus & brain performance, Concussion, traumatic brain injury & stroke recovery, Delayed gastric emptying on GLP-1 medicines, EBV and reactivated viruses, Eyes: macular degeneration & retinal health, Fat loss, obesity & body recomposition, Fatigue & low energy (incl. midlife), Fatty liver & elevated liver enzymes, Female fertility, Gut: IBD (Crohn's, colitis), leaky gut, IBS & ulcers, High-demand jobs: military, fire, police, EMT (and combat-sport athletes), Immune system (general), Kidney protection (CKD, diabetic kidney, lupus kidney), Low blood pressure and orthostatic hypotension, Low testosterone (without or alongside TRT), Lung health, asthma & COPD, Male fertility and sperm, Migraine, Mitochondrial dysfunction, Multiple sclerosis, Muscle gain, sarcopenia & building muscle after 40, Muscle disease (myopathy), Neuropathy and CRPS, Osteoarthritis, cartilage loss & avoiding joint replacement, Osteoporosis and bone density, Pancreatitis (after the acute phase), PCOS, Post-surgical inflammation and surgery recovery, POTS and dysautonomia, Prostate inflammation, Rheumatoid arthritis, Sexual function & libido (women and men), Sleep apnea (obstructive), Sleep problems (incl. insomnia on peptides), Thyroid problems, Tinnitus.
Research and education only. Not medical advice. No dosing guidance. Data: ClinicalTrials.gov registry and PubMed via the PeptideWhiz index (204,289 studies).
Reported dosing ranges from research