Table 2.
Studies reporting the effects of L-carnitine supplementation on NAFLD progression and related diseases.
| References | Type of study | Subject | Disease | Sample size | Duration | Intervention group | Control group | Results* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alavinejad et al. (94) | Randomized double blind pilot study | Humans | NAFLD + Diabetes | 54 (28 vs. 26) | 12 weeks | L-Carnitine (750 mg tid) | Placebo (750 mg tid) | ↓: AST, ALT |
| Bae et al. (101) | Randomized double blind pilot study | Humans | NAFLD + Diabetes | 78 (39 vs. 39) | 12 weeks | Carnitine-orotate complex (824 mg tid) | Placebo (824 mg tid) | ↓: ALT, liver attenuation index on CT, HbA1c |
| Hong et al. (102) | Randomized double blind pilot study | Humans | NAFLD +\ Diabetes | 52 (26 vs. 26) | 12 weeks | Metformin (250 mg tid) + carnitine-orotate complex (300 mg tid) | Metformin (250 mg tid) | ↓: ALT, urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine ↑: mtDNA copy number |
| Hamza et al. (103) | Prospective case-control interventional study | Humans | Obesity (suspected NAFLD) | 50 | 24 weeks | Comparison before and after L-Carnitine (50 mg/kg/d) therapy | ↓: AST, ALT, Liver span, WC, HC, waist/hip ratio, FBG, Chemerin, HOMA index, incidence and severity of NAFLD (after LC therapy) | |
| Malaguarnera et al. (104) | Randomized double blind pilot study | Humans | NASH | 74 (36 vs. 38) | 24 weeks | L-carnitine (1 g bid) + 1,600-calorie diet | Placebo (1 g bid) + 1,600-calorie diet | ↓: AST, ALT, γ-GT, TC, LDL-C, TG, FBG, HOMA-IR, CRP, TNF-α, histological scores ↑: HDL-C |
| Ishikawa et al. (105) | Randomized control trial | Mice | NASH | unclear | 4 weeks | High-fat diet + L-carnitine | high-fat diet | ↓: TNF-α mRNA, NAFLD activity score ↑: CPT II |
| Okabayashi et al. (68) | Randomized control trial | Humans | liver cancer (after hepatectomy) | 208 (102 vs. 106) | 2 weeks | L-carnitine (30 mg/kg) (oral before liver resection) | Usual intake | ↓: hospital stay, ammonia levels, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, post-hepatic liver failure ↑: PT |
| Hassan et al. (106) | Randomized control trial | Humans | liver cancer (after TACE) | 50 (24 vs. 26) | 12 weeks | L-Carnitine (300 mg bid) | Usual intake | ↓: Child-Pugh score, TB ↑: PT, serum albumin |
| Malaguarnera et al. (107) | Randomized control trial | Humans | Cirrhosis + HE | 120 (60 vs. 60) | 60 days | L-Carnitine (2 g bid) | Placebo (2 g bid) | ↓: ; NCT-A |
| Cecere et al. (108) | Randomized control trial | Humans | hepatic cirrhosis | 27 (16 vs. 11) | 4 weeks | L-Carnitine (3 g bid) | Placebo (3g bid) | ↓: |
Only show indicators that have statistically significant changes after L-carnitine intervention.
ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; γ-GT, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase; HDL-C, high dense lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C, low density lipoprotein cholesterol; FBG, fasting blood glucose; TB, total bilirubin; TG, triglyceride; TC, cholesterol; WC, waistline circumference; HC, hip circumference; CRP, C-reactive protein; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α; HOMA, homeostatic model assessment; HbA1c, glycosylated hemoglobin; TACE, transarterial chemoembolization; PT, prothrombin time; HE, hepatic encephalopathy; NCT-A, number connection test-A.