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Extensively studiedMuscle & performance

L-Carnitine

REC PPT-L-CARNITINE // REV 2026-10-04 // assessment changes are logged, never silent

A well-studied nutrient compound, not a peptide.

What it is

An amino acid derivative essential to transporting fatty acids into mitochondria for oxidation.

What it does

Supports fatty-acid transport and energy metabolism; also used clinically in carnitine deficiency states.

Does it work?

Extensively studied as an oral supplement with modest and context-dependent effects. Clinical deficiency states are a genuine indication; performance and fat-loss claims in healthy people are much weaker.

Claims vs data

Each marketing claim, tagged by what the evidence actually supports.

Corrects clinical carnitine deficiency	supported
Modest, context-dependent performance effects	partially true
Burns fat in healthy adults	weak evidence

Reference figures

Quoted from published reference material. These are not Peptuity recommendations.

Vial600 mg/ml

DiluentN/A

Listed dose200–600 mg

Units / 1 ml33–100

FormulaC7H15NO3

Mol. weight161.20 g/mol

molecular data — PubChem CID 10917

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The evidence, counted

Live counts from Europe PMC and ClinicalTrials.gov.

Publications 24,370

Randomised trials 742

Clinical trials 472

Registered studies 362

24,370 publications indexed, including 742 randomised controlled trials. 362 interventional studies registered. This is a well-tested compound.

SRC // EUROPE PMC + CTGOV // "L-Carnitine" // FETCHED 2026-10-04 // 24,370 RECORDS

Most-cited literature

[01] Intestinal microbiota metabolism of L-carnitine, a nutrient in red meat, promotes atherosclerosis
Koeth RA, Wang Z, Levison BS, Buffa JA, Org E, Org E, Sheehy BT, Britt · Nat Med 2013 · 3409 citations · DOI 10.1038/nm.3145
[02] Multi-omics of the gut microbial ecosystem in inflammatory bowel diseases
Lloyd-Price J, Arze C, Ananthakrishnan AN, Schirmer M, Avila-Pacheco J · Nature 2019 · 2637 citations · DOI 10.1038/s41586-019-1237-9
[03] Integrating taxonomic, functional, and strain-level profiling of diverse microbial communities with bioBakery 3
Beghini F, McIver LJ, Blanco-Míguez A, Dubois L, Asnicar F, Maharjan S · Elife 2021 · 2096 citations · DOI 10.7554/elife.65088
[04] Asian-Pacific clinical practice guidelines on the management of hepatitis B: a 2015 update
Sarin SK, Kumar M, Lau GK, Abbas Z, Chan HL, Chen CJ, Chen DS, Chen HL · Hepatol Int 2016 · 2057 citations · DOI 10.1007/s12072-015-9675-4

Regulatory status

Formal, dated regulatory actions.

WADA — Prohibited List 2026

Permitted — but intravenous infusions above 100 ml per 12 h are prohibited in sport

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Common questions

Is L-carnitine a peptide?

No — it is an amino acid derivative sold in the same catalogues. Its evidence base is oral supplementation, which is unusual for this list.

Does injecting it beat taking it orally?

Injection bypasses poor oral absorption, but the outcome evidence people cite comes overwhelmingly from oral studies. Better absorption of a modest effect is still a modest effect.

Will it burn fat on its own?

Trials in healthy adults show modest, context-dependent effects at best. It transports fatty acids; it does not create an energy deficit.

Related compounds

Limited evidence