Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Mar 7;8(1):8.
doi: 10.1038/s41387-018-0017-1.

Role of carnitine and its derivatives in the development and management of type 2 diabetes

Judit Bene  1   2 , Kinga Hadzsiev  3   4 , Bela Melegh  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Role of carnitine and its derivatives in the development and management of type 2 diabetes

Judit Bene et al. Nutr Diabetes. .

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes is a highly prevalent chronic metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia and associated with several complications such as retinopathy, hyperlipidemia and polyneuropathy. The dysregulated fatty acid metabolism along with tissue lipid accumulation is generally assumed to be associated in the development of insulin resistance and T2D. Moreover, several studies suggest a central role for oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of the disease. Since L-carnitine (LC) has an indispensable role in lipid metabolism via its involvement in the β-oxidation of long-chain fatty acids and it has antioxidant properties as well, carnitine supplementation may prove to be an effective tool in the management of the clinical course of T2D. In this review we summarize the results from animal and clinical studies demonstrating the effects of supplementation with LC or LC derivatives (acetyl-LC, propionyl-LC) on various metabolic and clinical parameters associated with T2D.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Wild S, Roglic G, Green A, Sicree R, King H. Global prevalence of diabetes: estimates for the year 2000 and projections for 2030. Diabetes Care. 2004;27:1047–1053. doi: 10.2337/diacare.27.5.1047. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Abdul-Ghani MA, et al. Deleterious action of FA metabolites on ATP synthesis: possible link between lipotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, and insulin resistance. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 2008;295:E678–E685. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.90287.2008. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bardini G, Rotella CM, Giannini S. Dyslipidemia and diabetes: reciprocal impact of impaired lipid metabolism and Beta-cell dysfunction on micro- and macrovascular complications. Rev. Diabet. Stud. 2012;9:82–93. doi: 10.1900/RDS.2012.9.82. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mynatt RL. Carnitine and type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Metab. Res. Rev. 2009;25:S45–S49. doi: 10.1002/dmrr.987. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bieber LL. Carnitine. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 1988;57:261–283. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.57.070188.001401. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types