Study summary · research use only
Acetyl-L-carnitine
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
This short review describes acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC), an ester of L-carnitine synthesized in the human brain, liver, and kidney by ALC-transferase. The authors describe its biochemical roles: facilitating uptake of acetyl CoA into mitochondria during fatty acid oxidation, contributing to acetylcholine production, and stimulating protein and membrane phospholipid synthesis, and note that, being structurally similar to acetylcholine, it exerts a cholinomimetic effect. The authors state that studies have suggested ALC may be of benefit in conditions including Alzheimer's dementia, depression in the elderly, HIV infection, diabetic neuropathies, brain ischemia and reperfusion, and cognitive impairment of alcoholism. This is a narrative overview rather than a primary experiment, and reports no new quantitative data.
Abstract
Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) is an ester of the trimethylated amino acid, L-carnitine, and is synthesized in the human brain, liver, and kidney by the enzyme ALC-transferase. Acetyl-L-carnitine facilitates the uptake of acetyl CoA into the mitochondria during fatty acid oxidation, enhances acetylcholine production, and stimulates protein and membrane phospholipid synthesis. ALC, similar in structure to acetylcholine, also exerts a cholinomimetic effect. Studies have shown that ALC may be of benefit in treating Alzheimer's dementia, depression in the elderly, HIV infection, diabetic neuropathies, ischemia and reperfusion of the brain, and cognitive impairment of alcoholism.
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