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Lee Swanson Research Update
L-Carnitine Supplementation May Help Reduce Bone Loss
August 2008
Supplementing with L-carnitine may reduce bone loss in postmenopausal women, if promising results from a rat study can be repeated in humans.
Animals fed L-carnitine supplements had a bone mineral density 6.3% higher than control animals, according to results published in the journal Phytomedicine.
“Our preliminary findings suggest that dietary supplementation of carnitine may prevent the rapid and sustained reductions in the rate of bone loss associated with aging and other conditions in which individuals experience a rapid bone loss such as early postmenopausal women,” wrote lead author Shirin Hooshmand from Florida State University.
“Nonetheless, further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanism underlying the effect of carnitine on bone and evaluate the benefits of carnitine supplementation as an alternative/adjunctive treatment to reduce bone turnover.”
L-carnitine, a vitamin-like nutrient, occurs naturally in the human body and is essential for turning fat into energy. It is frequently used as a dietary supplement by physically active people to help with post-exercise recovery.
The researchers used female rats that had their ovaries removed to model postmenopausal bone loss, which is associated with osteoporosis. This is characterized by low bone mass, which leads to an increased risk of fractures, especially in the hips, spine and wrists.
Rats were divided into two groups, with one fed the control diet, while the other was fed the control diet and supplemented with 150 mg of carnitine per kg of diet for eight weeks. At the end of the study, Hooshmand and co-workers reported that, in addition to the higher bone mineral density, animals supplemented with L-carnitine also had lower levels of a substance called tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) by 73%. TRAP is an indicator of bone resorption, or a weakening of the bones.
Moreover, levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and collagen type-1 (COL)—substances associated with bone formation—were also decreased by 64% and 61%, respectively.
“To our knowledge, the present study is the first to report that carnitine suppresses the expression of selected genes involved in both bone resorption and formation in aging rats under in vivo conditions,” wrote the researchers.
“Our data here showed that carnitine decreased […] levels of TRAP as well as ALP and COL, suggesting that carnitine may suppress bone turnover by decreasing the rates of both bone resorption and formation, decreasing two markers of bone formation by over 60%, compared to the control group,” they added.
Phytomedicine 15(8):595-601, 2008
