The Effect of Oral L-Carnitine Supplementation on Lipid Profiles and Antioxidant Status in Hemodialysis Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Dyslipidemia and oxidative stress are commonly seen in the patients undergoing hemodialysis. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of oral L-carnitine supplementation on lipid profiles and total antioxidant capacity of the patients were treated with hemodialysis.
This study was a randomized, controlled clinical trial. The participants of this study consisted of 50 hemodialysis patients in dialysis centers of Yazd between 2013 and 2014. The patients randomly divided into two groups; L-carnitine (LG) and control group (CG). The patients in the LG were instructed to use daily 1g L-carnitine oral supplementation, as syrup for 12 weeks. The patients in the CG did not receive any supplement containing L-carnitine. At the baseline and the end of 12 weeks, triglycerides, total cholesterol (TC), LDLc, and total antioxidant capacity of serum (TAC) were evaluated in both groups.
The mean of triglyceride and TC between and within groups were not significantly different. The mean of LDLc did not change in LG whereas a significant increase was seen in CG (p=0.02). The mean differences of LDLc between groups was statistically significant (p=0.05). No Significant changes were observed in serum levels of TAC in LG compared with CG (p=0.76). TAC was increased in both groups, but these changes were not statistically significant (p=0.62).
This study showed that oral supplementation of L-carnitine as syrup (1g per day) for 12 weeks among the hemodialysis patients would have no effect on triglyceride, TC, and TAC, but it would decrease the LDLc.