L-Carnitine for Mental Health

L-carnitine, a natural amino acid made in the muscles and liver, may improve muscle mass and enhance mental performance in individuals 100 years and older, a new study suggests.

In humans, L-carnitine is created in the liver, kidney and brain and actively transported to other areas of the body.

Carnitine supplementation, as L-carnitine or acetyl- or propionyl-L-carnitine, has been investigated in many other diseases and conditions. There is no strong evidence for any uses.

Researchers from the University of Catania in Italy explained that centenarians, or individuals 100 years and older, are characterized by weakness, decreasing mental health, impaired mobility and poor endurance. The researchers believe that L-Carnitine is an important contributor to cellular energy metabolism.

The study evaluated the efficacy of L-carnitine on physical and mental fatigue and on cognitive functions of centenarians.

In the study, 66 centenarians with onset of fatigue after even slight physical activity were divided into two groups and received either two grams levocarnitine once daily (32 participants) or placebo (34 participants). Efficacy measures included changes in total fat mass, total muscle mass, serum triacylglycerol, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Activities of Daily Living and a six-minute walking corridor test.

The study found that the levocarnitine-treated centenarians, compared with the placebo group, showed significant improvements in the following markers: total fat mass, total muscle mass, plasma concentrations of total carnitine, plasma long-chain acylcarnitine and plasma short-chain acylcarnitine. Significant differences were also found in physical fatigue, mental fatigue, fatigue severity and MMSE.

The study authors concluded that oral administration of levocarnitine may reduce total fat mass, increase total muscular mass and facilitate an increased capacity for physical and cognitive activity by reducing fatigue and improving cognitive functions.

For more information about L-carnitine, please visit Natural Standard’s Foods, Herbs, & Supplements database.

Comments

[Don]

Is this only effective in people 100 years old and older? Is there any reason for this??

[Scott]

It’s amazing the number of ways people have come up with to prolong our lifespans!

[Lynn]

I don’t know how effective it is, but apparently people also use l-carnitine supplementation in bodybuilding, infancy and pregnancy – times when people need a lot of energy - to help release energy from fat. Without taking supplements, you can increase l-carnitine in your diet by consuming more dairy and red meats.

[Wendy]

How long did they takes these supplements for? Two grams seems like an awful lot to take a day. Is it affordable? I guess I am just skeptical because I don't know anything about oral intake vs. bioavailability. The other day I was talking to a colleague who had high cholesterol and was trying to stay away from high-cholesterol foods. But as far as I know, there is no link between dietary cholesterol and high cholesterol in the body. In fact, I always thought it was homocysteine build up and lack of clearance that increased cholesterol and simultaneously caused heart problems. I digress...my point is - how do we really know that the carnitine was causing the changes and not something else?

[rick]

L-carnitine is practically illegal in Canada. It's only available by prescription. L-carnitine can't be sold as a supplement, a "natural health product" or even shipped to Canada. Kind of sucks.

[cz]

So what about all the energy drinks that contain L-carnitine? I guess they aren't available in Canada either?

[Jamie]

Could L-carnitine have the same effects for younger people? If it can enhance energy, then I am thinking that maybe L-carnitine could be taken in supplement form for increased energy and to feel awake. Wouldn't this be better than drinking those energy drinks and taking those caffeine pills that many college students use?

[rjspencer]

Blueberries have also been shown to reverse age-related declines in cognitive function. What a great excuse to eat more blueberry pie!

[mmj]

It stinks that it's not easily obtained, but maybe it's good that supplements like L-carnitine are regulated in Canada. It is my understanding that prescription medications are relatively inexpensive in Canada as well – remember all the fuss about U.S. residents getting their prescriptions filled online through Canadian pharmacies?

[skeptic]

I wonder if the placebo effect still works if the test subject is mentally impaired.

[hs]

Muscular dystrophy involves a carnitine deficiency, doesn't it? I wonder if people with MS take L-carnitine supplements.

[Steve]

It's amazing how long people are living these days! It is good to hear that levocarnitine supplementation could help you live better as you get older. Does anyone know when you could begin taking L-carnitine supplements?

[Josh]

Rick, why is Canada so strict about L-carnitine? Was something found in studies? I have never heard of this supplement before, and I find it alarming that Canada has pretty much banned it.

[Mike]

Wendy –

L-carnitine as an oral supplement has less than 10% bioavailability, and doses of 3g are about average for a variety of conditions that L-carnitine is used to treat, even in pediatrics. I don’t know how long they took it for in this study, but some L-carnitine oral supplement treatments are continued for up to one year, and for some uses, doses were as high as 6g for this length of time.

[Matt]

Is this more effective than ginkgo or ginseng?

[Gilbert]

I've heard that L-carnitine may help patients with Alzheimer's disease. Does anyone know about research in this area?

[Josh]

In one study, acetyl-L-carnitine reversed age-related morphological changes in rat soleus muscles after six months. L-carnitine has also been shown to suppress oxidative damage in the rat brain. In addition, animal studies suggest that acetyl-L-carnitine may reduce age-associated deterioration in auditory sensitivity and improve cochlear function.

[v]

The study only examined the effects of L-carnitine in 100+ year-old people. That's not to say that these effects won't work in younger people - say, 90-year-olds. I'm a bit surprised they would choose centenarians though - it doesn't seem to be a good idea to test things on people at that stage in their lives.

[cz]

Not to mention the high probability of losing your test subjects to age-related complications (e.g. death).

[MP]

They studied 66 centenarians too. It must have been rather difficult to recruit so many willing participants older than 100 years of age!

[chowder]

Acetyl-L-carnitine (or ALCAR) is supposed to have better bioavailability than L-carnitine, but this is debatable. It is also supposed to be neuroprotective (like L-carnitine), and similar studies have shown that it slows mental decline in elderly people, Alzheimer's disease patients, etc.

[rick]

They're different? I've seen both L-carnitine and acetyl-L-carnitine but always assumed they were the same thing.

[Howie]

L-carnitine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Carnitine_structure.png
Acetyl-L-carnitine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Acetylcarnitine_structure.png

[Billy-Bob]

It is interesting that these researchers would choose people who are so old. I would imagine that people who are 100 years old are taking many medications and have a variety of physical and mental ailments that might influence the results of this study. I think that most studies of L-carnitine as a treatment for dementia have involved people who are 60 to 97 years old.

[Luke]

L-carnitine supplements have also been studied as a possible way to improve memory in healthy, young adults. From what I understand, there was no benefit seen, but the available research in this area is limited. I'd like to see more research on younger populations. It'd be great if supplements could help prevent memory loss or age-related dementia.

[Herb]

Are L-carnitine supplements safe? Do they cause any side effects or interactions?

[Lucy]

Herb,

In general, L-carnitine is safe, and no significant complications have been reported in available human clinical studies. Minor side effects have been reported, such as skin rash, body odor, "fishy smell," diarrhea, heartburn, nausea, stomachache, loose bowel movement, nonspecific abdominal discomfort, or vomiting. Euphoria, insomnia, nervousness, mania, depression, and aggression have also been reported, but primarily in patients with pre-existing psychiatric conditions.

[Mitchel]

Transient hair loss was reported in 1% of cases. Less birth weight was regained in low-birth-weight infants treated with L-carnitine.

Carnitine supplements should be used cautiously in patients with peripheral vascular disease, high blood pressure, alcohol-induced liver cirrhosis, low-birth-weight (infants), diabetics, and patients on hemodialysis.

[Ilia]

Are carnitine supplements available in the U.S.? Like Josh, I'd like to know why Canada is so strict about regulating this supplement.

[Josh]

L-carnitine supplements are widely available in the United States, and they are taken for many conditions from general fatigue to erectile dysfunction. It is generally safe, but it has been associated with some of the following adverse effects: skin rash, body odor, "fishy smell," diarrhea, gastric pyrosis (heartburn), nausea, gastralgia (stomachache), loose bowel movements, nonspecific abdominal discomfort, and vomiting.

[Carnivore]

Another benefit...

This study (http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/18/1/77) shows that L-carnitine is also helpful in facilitating glucose uptake in type II diabetes patients.

[Aeon]

I was talking about this the other day with some friends and a few of them said that they are supplementing with D-Carnitine. They said that they took D-Carnitine to body build. Is this true? They sure did not look any bigger. I am not sold on all this supplementation idea. If we eat balanced diets and try to maintain healthy levels of vitamins, we should be okay. I get scared when people take too much of a good thing.

[Debbie]

Gilbert - Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) is what has been studied in Alzheimer’s disease. ACL has cholinergic properties, but also helps with cellular functioning. Autopsies of Alzheimer brains have shown a significant decrease in carnitine acetyltransferase (this converts L-carnitine to acetyl-L-carnitine). Therefore, it would be ALC that would be more beneficial in Alzheimer patients.

[Jess]

Some other medical conditions L-carnitine is used for are heart disease, heart failure, high cholesterol and symptoms of hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland). L-carntitine taken after a heart attack has been shown in some studies to decrease the chance of another heart attack and the chance of developing heart failure. However, it needs to be taken two to three times daily, which may be hard for some people to stick with.

[Zoey]

"Rick, why is Canada so strict about L-carnitine? Was something found in studies? I have never heard of this supplement before, and I find it alarming that Canada has pretty much banned it."

Pure profit for the Big Pharms. They want to shut down the health food industry so they can absorb all the money. It's called bill C-51/C-52. Basic nutrients, vitamins and amino acids will become as illegal as common street drugs. Clement and others in Health Canada have known ties to Big Pharms. Clement once owned 1/4 stock in Prudential Chem out of Toronto. He only "gave" it up due to pressure. This has NOTHING to do with safety. There is NO science. NO recorded deaths. It is purely political lobbying so that the big corps can profit and people suffer. If you are Canadian, you need to be standing up and fighting for your rights, and fast. The stage you set will affect the rest of the world. It is only the beginning. Codex Alimentarius is next. They want to make it so you eat government-made, non-organic food and take pharm drugs.