L-Carnitine supplementation reduces biomarkers of inflammatory and oxidative stress in patients with coronary artery disease: a randomised controlled trial

Objective: l-Carnitine has been suggested as a potential nutrient that alleviates the oxidative and inflammatory damages of coronary artery disease (CAD), but the results of the previous studies of the importance of this supplementation remains unclear. This study attempts to evaluate the effects of l-carnitine (LC) supplementation on oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers in patients with CAD.

Methods: A double-blind, randomised, placebo-trial was conducted on 75 CAD subjects. Patients were randomly assigned to receive LC (1000 mg/day) or placebo capsules over 3 months. Sera high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), myeloperoxidase (MPO), nitrotyrosine (NT) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were assayed.

Results: A significant increase in serum TAC and a significant decrease in MPO, NT, and hs-CRP levels were detected following 12 weeks of LC supplementation, compared to the placebo.

Conclusions: These results suggest that LC supplementation may exert beneficial effect on cardiovascular health through attenuate oxidative and inflammatory markers in CAD patients.

Keywords: l-Carnitine; cardiovascular disease; coronary artery disease; inflammatory; oxidative stress.