The Effects of L-carnitine Supplementation on Glycemic Markers in Adults: A Systematic Review and Dose-response Meta-analysis

Background And Aims: Hyperglycemia and insulin resistance are concerns today worldwide. Recently, L-carnitine supplementation has been suggested as an effective adjunctive therapy in glycemic control. Therefore, it seems important to investigate its effect on glycemic markers.

Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane databases were searched in October 2022 for prospective studies on the effects of L-carnitine supplementation on glycemic markers. Inclusion criteria included adult participants and taking oral L-carnitine supplements for at least seven days. The pooled weighted mean difference (WMD) was calculated using a random-effects model.

Results: We included the 41 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) ( = 2900) with 44 effect sizes in this study. In the pooled analysis; L-carnitine supplementation had a significant effect on fasting blood glucose (FBG) (mg/dl) [WMD = -3.22 mg/dl; 95% CI, -5.21 to -1.23; = 0.002; = 88.6%, < 0.001], hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) (%) [WMD = -0.27%; 95% CI, -0.47 to -0.07; = 0.007; = 90.1%, < 0.001] and homeostasis model assessment-estimate insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) [WMD = -0.73; 95% CI, -1.21 to -0.25; = 0.003; = 98.2%, < 0.001] in the intervention compared to the control group. L-carnitine supplementation had a reducing effect on baseline FBG ≥100 mg/dl, trial duration ≥12 weeks, intervention dose ≥2 g/day, participants with overweight and obesity (baseline BMI 25-29.9 and >30 kg/m), and diabetic patients. Also, L-carnitine significantly affected insulin (pmol/l), HOMA-IR (%), and HbA1c (%) in trial duration ≥12 weeks, intervention dose ≥2 g/day, and participants with obesity (baseline BMI >30 kg/m). It also had a reducing effect on HOMA-IR in diabetic patients, non-diabetic patients, and just diabetic patients for insulin, and HbA1c. There was a significant nonlinear relationship between the duration of intervention and changes in FBG, HbA1c, and HOMA-IR. In addition, there was a significant nonlinear relationship between dose (≥2 g/day) and changes in insulin, as well as a significant linear relationship between the duration (weeks) (coefficients = -16.45, = 0.004) of intervention and changes in HbA1C.

Conclusions: L-carnitine could reduce the levels of FBG, HbA1c, and HOMA-IR.

Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier: CRD42022358692.