Carnipure® L-Carnitine

What is Carnipure®?

The Carnipure® brand stands for a special grade of L-Carnitine, manufactured by the Swiss company Lonza. Products carrying the Carnipure® quality seal on the packaging show that they contain high quality Lonza L-Carnitine.

How L-Carnitine Works

The main metabolic function of Carnipure® L-Carnitine is to transport long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondrial matrix for beta-oxidation. Beta-oxidation is the metabolic pathway for using fat as an energy source. This pathway occurs in the part of the cell called the mitochondrial matrix, and L-Carnitine is essential for transporting the fatty acids into this space.

L-Carnitine is a natural nutrient synthesized in the body through beta-oxidation in the mitochondrial matrix. L-Carnitine transports fatty acids and helps optimize energy generation.

Quality & Safety

Under the Carnipure® brand, Lonza offers two grades: Carnipure® crystalline and Carnipure® tartrate. Carnipure® crystalline is pure L-Carnitine, whereas Carnipure® tartrate is the crystallized stable salt produced from Carnipure® crystalline and food-grade equivalent L-tartaric acid, in a molar ratio of 2:1 (i.e.,approximately 68% L-Carnitine and 32% L-tartaric acid which is the highest L-Carnitine concentration of any currently commercially available non-hygroscopic salt form).

Carnipure® crystalline and Carnipure® tartrate are approved and/or accepted in most countries such as the United States, European Union, Japan, China, etc.:

  • Codex Alimentarius lists both ingredients for use in infant formula.
  • The products are approved for foods for particular nutritional uses (PARNUTS).
  • The products have a positive EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) safety evaluation.

The products are self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe).

Carnipure® Applications

Sports: Exercise & Recovery

Carnipure® L-Carnitine plays an important role in facilitating the recovery process in response to physical activity. In this role, Carnipure® L-Carnitine helps to protect the endothelial cells from an L-Carnitine deficiency (thereby positively influencing the markers of purine catabolism), contributes to the reduction of tissue damage and muscle soreness and facilitates the overall process of recovery. Carnipure® L-Carnitine is emerging as a key ingredient in exercise and recovery type formulations across the globe.

Specifically, Carnipure® L-Carnitine provides benefits in this application ranging from supporting healthy blood flow, reducing markers of metabolic stress, decreasing muscle soreness and improving recovery time.

L-Carnitine for Weight Management

In the case of weight management, decreasing fat mass while preserving muscle mass is the ultimate goal. While weight management and sustained energy are different applications, both require using fatty acids, breaking them down, and converting them into energy in the form of ATP. Carnipure® L-Carnitine is the nutrient needed to help support this conversion of fat into metabolic energy. As Carnipure® supplementation can increase beta-oxidation, this results in glucose sparing and decreased breakdown of amino acids for energy production.

L-Carnitine for Energy

In the case of sustained energy, converting fatty acids into ATP (adenosine triphosphate) can provide a more long lasting source of energy.

L-Carnitine for Infant Nutrition

Breast milk contains L-Carnitine, which is required for the transport of long-chain fatty acids and other organic acids across mitochondrial membranes. Young infants fed carnitine free diets develop reduced plasma and tissue L-Carnitine levels, and they may further develop disorders related to fatty acid oxidation, metabolism of acyl-CoA compounds, ketogenesis and nitrogen balance. The ESPGHAN Committee on Nutrition (European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition) recommends that infant formula contain L-Carnitine at levels similar to those found in breast milk. L-Carnitine synthesis in newborns is less efficient than in adults, and appears to be insufficient to meet the requirements. Therefore, L-Carnitine is regarded as a conditionally essential nutrient for infants and children.

L-Carnitine for Healthy Aging

Elderly people have a lower energy demands and their eating habits change with age. For example, they usually consume less meat. At the same time, the dietary intake of both L-Carnitine and the nutrients required to make L-Carnitine is reduced. A decreased endogenous synthesis could also be shown by researchers. A decrease of L-Carnitine with age in various body compartments has often been described in literature. The resulting reduction in energy metabolism due to lower L-Carnitine levels can be restored by L-Carnitine supplementation.

L-Carnitine for Pregnancy

There is increasing evidence that L-Carnitine may play an important role during pregnancy, particularly in women following a meat-reduced or vegetarian diet for which daily L-Carnitine intake may be too low to meet the increased needs during pregnancy. Due to its excellent safety profile, Carnipure® supplementation may be appropriate for pregnant women to support restoration of their L-Carnitine plasma levels and at the same time decrease plasma free fatty acids. Of course, pregnant women should always consult a physician before taking any dietary supplement.

Male Fertility

L-Carnitine may play an important role in male reproductive health, mainly due to increased mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, which results in improved motility of epididymal sperm. Clinical studies suggest that L-Carnitine supplementation over a period of 3 to 6 months can positively affect sperm concentration, sperm count, the percentage of motile sperm, and the percentage of sperm with rapid progression. Carnipure® supplementation should be considered by men interested in supporting their reproductive system.