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Tuesday, March 3, 2015. The March 2015 issue of the journal Nutrition reported the outcome of a randomized trial of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients which found that supplementation with L-carnitine was associated with a reduction in markers of inflammation.
"Many theories describing the atherosclerotic disease process are correlated with inflammation status," write Bor-Jen Lee, MD, PhD, of Taichung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan and colleagues in their introduction to the article. "Mounting evidence indicates that a higher inflammation status plays a key role in development of coronary artery disease."
Thirty-nine men were given 1,000 milligrams L-carnitine or a placebo for twelve weeks. Serum inflammation markers C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), as well as markers of antioxidant status, were measured before and after the treatment period.
Among those who received L-carnitine, all markers of inflammation were lower on average in comparison with the placebo group by the end of the study. Higher CRP and IL-6 levels were correlated with increased levels of oxidative stress and higher levels of all markers of inflammation were associated with lower antioxidant enzyme levels.
Dr Lee and associates note that studies have shown that L-carnitine helps prevent oxidative injury in models of cardiovascular disease by reducing lipid peroxidation, scavenging hydrogen peroxide and superoxide radicals, chelating metal ions, and upregulating the body's antioxidant defense system by increasing endogenous antioxidant activities.
"To our knowledge, this is the first clinical study to examine the anti-inflammation effect of L-carnitine supplementation in patients with CAD," the authors announce. "We suggest that L-carnitine supplementation, due to its antioxidant effects, may have potential utility to reduce inflammation in coronary artery disease," they conclude.
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