L-Carnitine

L-Carnitine Bryan Kegans MS RSCC CSCS USAW Guyer Strength & Conditioning

L-Carnitine Introduction

Athletes are constantly bombarded with the pressure to perform every day, on the exact same level, without change. Along with the pressure to perform there is also the huge pressure of winning that society places on athletes. With pressure to perform and to win athletes can sometimes also be pressured into finding ways to gain a competitive edge. Often times this edge comes in the form of an ergogenic aid this aid is defined as work producing or the application of nutritional, physical, mechanical, psychologic, or pharmalogic procedure or aid to improve exercise capacity, athletic performance, and responsiveness to training (McArdle, Katch, Katch, 2009). Of the hundreds maybe even thousand of reported ergogenic aids that are available for consumption, the author would like to place the focus of this paper on L-Carnitine (LC). Ransone & Lefavi, 1997 provides this definition of Carnitine, LC is a naturally occurring amino acid derivative, synthesized from methionine and lysine. It is required in energy metabolism to facilitate the entry of long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondria as substrates for energy production. In addition, this substance stimulates the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex by decreasing the acetyl CoA/CoA ratio thus enhancing the oxidation of glucose and lactic acid. LC has been reported to help the athlete in a few of the following ways; enhance muscle fatty acid oxidation, decrease muscle glycogen depletion, shift substrate use in muscle from glucose to fatty acids, and finally improve muscle fatigue resistance (McArdle, Katch, Katch, 2009).

L-Carnitine

Throughout the course of this paper the author would like to review the available research on LCarnitine and report on whether or not the above claims are reasonably correct or not. L-Carnitine Research Starting with the claim that intake of LC will improve muscle resistance to fatigue. As mentioned above LC has been found to enhance the oxidation of glucose and lactic acid, because the build of up of lactic acid is one of the main limiting factors in anaerobic exercise one would think that the ingestion of LC would allow the athlete to exercise longer and harder. The 1997 study by Ransone & Lefavi on the effects of dietary LC on anaerobic exercise lactate in elite male athletes studied the effects of LC supplementation on 26 healthy male runners of similar fitness levels and training experience. These runners participated in a double blind crossover study that was controlled by a placebo capsule. Runners took either 2g of LC or 2g of placebo twice a day for 21 days and then the group was switched to the opposite of what they were taking without knowledge of whether they were on LC or placebo. Results showed that there was no significant difference in either pre or post exercise blood lactate levels between either the placebo or LC groups (Ransone & Lefavi, 1997). Authors were quick to mention that LC supplementation may be affected by time. Meaning the LC might be shuttled over the course of weeks (Ransone & Lefavi, 1997). In a similar study Jacobs et al, 2010 tested 45 male resistance trained athletes on either 3 4.5g of a Glycine Propionyl-L-Carnitine (GPLC) or a lower amount of 1.5g of GPLC per day. Results of this study showed that with the higher dosage of GPLC athletes showed decrements in Peak Power and Mean Power where as athletes that were taking 1.5g showed increases in PP and MP. This group also showed significantly lower amounts of blood lactate that the 4.5g group. Based the above studies LC seems to be dependent on dosage

L-Carnitine and time. Lower dosages over a long period of time could yield increased work ability and decreased lactate build up.

Another of the reported claims of LC is its ability to enhance fat oxidation. In the 2008 study on the Carb, Protein, and fat metabolism during exercise after oral carnitine supplement in humans Broad, Maughan, & Galloway tested 20 participants on either 2g of LC or a placebo. Neither group was aware of the substance that they were ingesting. Participants were required to do 90 minutes of exercise @ 70% of V02 max. Over the course of 2 weeks results showed that supplementation of LC had no affect on fat oxidation. However, Broad, Maughan, & Galloway, 2008 are quick to point out several other studies that where there was evidence of increased fat oxidation, but that these studies required their participants to ingest LC anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 months. Personally the author feels that having to take a supplement over the course of a possible 6 months seems a little extreme, but if someone is willing to stay discipline then the reported claims could possibly be true. There is still a lot of room for research though. Lastly, is the issue of safety of LC for human consumption. As other studies mentioned Rubin et al, 2001 tested healthy male participants on a LC supplement over the course of three weeks to see if there were any adverse affects on metabolism or hematological functions. After three weeks on either the LC supplement or the placebo results showed that there were no adverse affects on metabolic and hematological safety variables in normally healthy men (Rubin et al, 2001).

L-Carnitine Conclusion

While there are many studies on the ingestion of LC and effects of exercise or oxidation of macronutrients to remain in the scoop of this paper the author would like to discuss that the research highlighted in this paper seems to be rather inconclusive. One question that still needs to be answered is proper dosage through the article covered today we saw an ingestion of anywhere from 1g to 4.5g of LC per day. Another question is the amount of time that LC needs to be taken in order to see some of the reported results like above we saw reported time periods of 2 weeks to 6 months. That time period seems even more confusing than the recommended amounts. The author believes that one conclusion can be drawn. It appears that lower amounts of LC over a long period of time yields more of the reported claims. Finally, it seems that LC should be advertised as a possible ergogenic aid.

L-Carnitine References

Broad, E, Maughan, R, & Galloway, S. (2008). Carbohydrate, protein, and fat metabolism during exerrcise after oral carnitine supplementation in humans. International Jrn of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 18, 567-584. Jacobs, P, Goldstein, E, Blackburn, W, Orem, I, & Hughes, J. (2010). Effects of glycine propionyl-l-carnitine supplementation on anaerobic work capacity and lactate accumulation are dosage dependent. Jrn of S&C Research, 24(1), McArdle, W, Katch, F, & Katch, V. (2009). Sports and exercise nutrition. Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Ransone, J, & Lefavi, R. (1997). The effects of dietary l-carnitine on anaerobic exercise lactate in elite male athletes. Jrn of S&C Research, 11(1), 4-7. Rubin, M, Volek, J, Gomez, A, Ratamess, N, & French, D. (2001). Safety measures of l-carnitine l-tartrate supplementation in healthy men. Jrn of S&C Research, 15(4), 486-490.