Improvement after a supplement is not the same as a comparative result
Start with the comparison. A before-and-after change alone cannot isolate the contribution of an ingredient.
L-Carnitine
Selected research topic
Blood lipids
Some measured outcomes improved in human comparison studies. Read these findings with their populations and conditions.
Some findings concern patients or people with a deficiency.
- Publications for this topic
- 5
- Human comparison publications
- 1
- Publications needing review
- 2
Findings in the studies
LDL cholesterol
Publications linked to this measurement: 2
Human comparison research
- A better result than the comparison group was reported.
What the comparison group used was not confirmed.
Patient group · Single ingredientMeasurement and study conditions
- Study type
- Randomized controlled trial: subjects were randomly assigned to groups for comparison.
- Study population
- Human participants · Patient group
- Ingredients tested
- Single ingredient
- How results were compared
- Results were compared between groups.
- Measurement time
- Not confirmed.
Review of existing studies · population needs confirmation
- The study reported improvement in this measurement.Single ingredient
Measurement and study conditions
- Study type
- Meta-analysis
- Study population
- Recorded population category: Patient group. Whether the research involved humans needs confirmation.
- Ingredients tested
- Single ingredient
- How results were compared
- Results were compared between groups. · Study comparison: l-carnitine versus placebo in included randomized trials
- Additional measurement information
- Primary outcome
- Measurement time
- Not confirmed.
Apo A-I
Publications linked to this measurement: 1
Review of existing studies · population needs confirmation
- A result was reported, but the comparison could not be confirmed.Single ingredient
Measurement and study conditions
- Study type
- Meta-analysis
- Study population
- Recorded population category: Patient group. Whether the research involved humans needs confirmation.
- Ingredients tested
- Single ingredient
- How results were compared
- Study comparison: l-carnitine versus placebo in included randomized trials
- Additional measurement information
- Primary outcome
- Measurement time
- Not confirmed.
Apo B 100
Publications linked to this measurement: 1
Review of existing studies · population needs confirmation
- A result was reported, but the comparison could not be confirmed.Single ingredient
Measurement and study conditions
- Study type
- Meta-analysis
- Study population
- Recorded population category: Patient group. Whether the research involved humans needs confirmation.
- Ingredients tested
- Single ingredient
- How results were compared
- Study comparison: l-carnitine versus placebo in included randomized trials
- Additional measurement information
- Primary outcome
- Measurement time
- Not confirmed.
HDL-C
Publications linked to this measurement: 1
Review of existing studies · population needs confirmation
- The study reported improvement in this measurement.Single ingredient
Measurement and study conditions
- Study type
- Meta-analysis
- Study population
- Recorded population category: Patient group. Whether the research involved humans needs confirmation.
- Ingredients tested
- Single ingredient
- How results were compared
- Results were compared between groups. · Study comparison: l-carnitine versus placebo in included randomized trials
- Additional measurement information
- Primary outcome
- Measurement time
- Not confirmed.
Other measured outcomes (7)
high density lipoprotein-cholesterol
Publications linked to this measurement: 1
Review of existing studies · population needs confirmation
- A result was reported, but the comparison could not be confirmed.Single ingredient
Measurement and study conditions
- Study type
- Meta-analysis
- Study population
- Study subject not identified
- Ingredients tested
- Single ingredient
- How results were compared
- Study comparison: pooled l-carnitine RCT effect estimate; comparator details not specified in the result sentence
- Additional measurement information
- Biomarker
- Measurement time
- Not confirmed.
low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol
Publications linked to this measurement: 1
Review of existing studies · population needs confirmation
- A result was reported, but the comparison could not be confirmed.Single ingredient
Measurement and study conditions
- Study type
- Meta-analysis
- Study population
- Study subject not identified
- Ingredients tested
- Single ingredient
- How results were compared
- Study comparison: pooled l-carnitine RCT effect estimate; comparator details not specified in the result sentence
- Additional measurement information
- Biomarker
- Measurement time
- Not confirmed.
Lp(a)
Publications linked to this measurement: 1
Review of existing studies · population needs confirmation
- The study reported improvement in this measurement.Single ingredient
Measurement and study conditions
- Study type
- Meta-analysis
- Study population
- Recorded population category: Patient group. Whether the research involved humans needs confirmation.
- Ingredients tested
- Single ingredient
- How results were compared
- Results were compared between groups. · Study comparison: l-carnitine versus placebo in included randomized trials
- Additional measurement information
- Primary outcome
- Measurement time
- Not confirmed.
TC
Publications linked to this measurement: 1
Review of existing studies · population needs confirmation
- The study reported improvement in this measurement.Single ingredient
Measurement and study conditions
- Study type
- Meta-analysis
- Study population
- Recorded population category: Patient group. Whether the research involved humans needs confirmation.
- Ingredients tested
- Single ingredient
- How results were compared
- Results were compared between groups. · Study comparison: l-carnitine versus placebo in included randomized trials
- Additional measurement information
- Primary outcome
- Measurement time
- Not confirmed.
TG
Publications linked to this measurement: 1
Review of existing studies · population needs confirmation
- A result was reported, but the comparison could not be confirmed.Single ingredient
Measurement and study conditions
- Study type
- Meta-analysis
- Study population
- Recorded population category: Patient group. Whether the research involved humans needs confirmation.
- Ingredients tested
- Single ingredient
- How results were compared
- Study comparison: l-carnitine versus placebo in included randomized trials
- Additional measurement information
- Primary outcome
- Measurement time
- Not confirmed.
total cholesterol
Publications linked to this measurement: 1
Review of existing studies · population needs confirmation
- A result was reported, but the comparison could not be confirmed.Single ingredient
Measurement and study conditions
- Study type
- Meta-analysis
- Study population
- Study subject not identified
- Ingredients tested
- Single ingredient
- How results were compared
- Study comparison: pooled l-carnitine RCT effect estimate; comparator details not specified in the result sentence
- Additional measurement information
- Biomarker
- Measurement time
- Not confirmed.
triglyceride (TG)
Publications linked to this measurement: 1
Review of existing studies · population needs confirmation
- A result was reported, but the comparison could not be confirmed.Single ingredient
Measurement and study conditions
- Study type
- Meta-analysis
- Study population
- Study subject not identified
- Ingredients tested
- Single ingredient
- How results were compared
- Study comparison: pooled l-carnitine RCT effect estimate; comparator details not specified in the result sentence
- Additional measurement information
- Biomarker
- Measurement time
- Not confirmed.
Representative outcome and study details
Human studies reported between-group improvement in LDL cholesterol; while Studies with an unspecified organism reported between-group improvement in LDL cholesterol.
These conditions come from related studies and may not describe a single paper.
Single-ingredient studies · Human studies · Includes patient groups · between-group comparison
2 publications linked to this result
- Study conditions differ; results are shown descriptively and are not pooled.
Data coverage and detailed study classifications
Paper counts are separated by research topic below. One paper may contribute to multiple findings.
Analysis status: Public-ready
Ingredient analysis date:
How the grade was determined: C
The 44.0 evidence score includes 1 independent human studies and 1 clinical studies in the representative benefit area. The C tier remains conservative because of limited repetition across independent human clinical studies, too few clinical findings with an explicit effect direction.
The grade is based mainly on the research area with the most evidence. It does not mean the same result was found in other areas.
Papers linked to this ingredient overall: 68
Papers linked to this topic 5 · distinct papers 5 · papers with a confirmed human comparison 1 · papers needing additional review 2
A publication may appear in more than one count. These numbers should not be added. Ingredient-wide papers, topic-linked papers, and sources in outcome groups use different scopes. Adding source counts may count the same paper more than once.
- Apo A-I: Sources represented in this measurement group: 1 · Distinct papers with human comparisons for this outcome: 0
- Apo B 100: Sources represented in this measurement group: 1 · Distinct papers with human comparisons for this outcome: 0
- HDL-C: Sources represented in this measurement group: 1 · Distinct papers with human comparisons for this outcome: 0
- high density lipoprotein-cholesterol: Sources represented in this measurement group: 1 · Distinct papers with human comparisons for this outcome: 0
- LDL cholesterol: Sources represented in this measurement group: 2 · Distinct papers with human comparisons for this outcome: 1
- low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol: Sources represented in this measurement group: 1 · Distinct papers with human comparisons for this outcome: 0
- Lp(a): Sources represented in this measurement group: 1 · Distinct papers with human comparisons for this outcome: 0
- TC: Sources represented in this measurement group: 1 · Distinct papers with human comparisons for this outcome: 0
- TG: Sources represented in this measurement group: 1 · Distinct papers with human comparisons for this outcome: 0
- total cholesterol: Sources represented in this measurement group: 1 · Distinct papers with human comparisons for this outcome: 0
- triglyceride (TG): Sources represented in this measurement group: 1 · Distinct papers with human comparisons for this outcome: 0
What the research found
LDL-C
The study reported improvement in this measurement.
Controlled study in people · Single ingredient · Patient group
Between-group comparison
Analysis coverage and paper counts
1 paper · 1 measured outcome
Direction counts are distinct papers within each row. Outcome contributions count endpoint results, so one paper may contribute more than once.
HDL-C
The study reported improvement in this measurement.
Meta-analysis · Single ingredient · Patient group
Between-group comparison
Analysis coverage and paper counts
1 paper · 1 measured outcome
Review overlap with primary papers is unknown; counts stay separate.
Direction counts are distinct papers within each row. Outcome contributions count endpoint results, so one paper may contribute more than once.
LDL-C
The study reported improvement in this measurement.
Meta-analysis · Single ingredient · Patient group
Between-group comparison
Analysis coverage and paper counts
1 paper · 1 measured outcome
Review overlap with primary papers is unknown; counts stay separate.
Direction counts are distinct papers within each row. Outcome contributions count endpoint results, so one paper may contribute more than once.
Lp(a)
The study reported improvement in this measurement.
Meta-analysis · Single ingredient · Patient group
Between-group comparison
Analysis coverage and paper counts
1 paper · 1 measured outcome
Review overlap with primary papers is unknown; counts stay separate.
Direction counts are distinct papers within each row. Outcome contributions count endpoint results, so one paper may contribute more than once.
TC
The study reported improvement in this measurement.
Meta-analysis · Single ingredient · Patient group
Between-group comparison
Analysis coverage and paper counts
1 paper · 1 measured outcome
Review overlap with primary papers is unknown; counts stay separate.
Direction counts are distinct papers within each row. Outcome contributions count endpoint results, so one paper may contribute more than once.
Apo A-I
A result was reported, but the comparison could not be confirmed.
Meta-analysis · Single ingredient · Patient group
Analysis coverage and paper counts
1 paper · 1 measured outcome
Review overlap with primary papers is unknown; counts stay separate.
Direction counts are distinct papers within each row. Outcome contributions count endpoint results, so one paper may contribute more than once.
Apo B 100
A result was reported, but the comparison could not be confirmed.
Meta-analysis · Single ingredient · Patient group
Analysis coverage and paper counts
1 paper · 1 measured outcome
Review overlap with primary papers is unknown; counts stay separate.
Direction counts are distinct papers within each row. Outcome contributions count endpoint results, so one paper may contribute more than once.
high density lipoprotein-cholesterol
A result was reported, but the comparison could not be confirmed.
Meta-analysis · Single ingredient · Unspecified population
Analysis coverage and paper counts
1 paper · 1 measured outcome
Review overlap with primary papers is unknown; counts stay separate.
Direction counts are distinct papers within each row. Outcome contributions count endpoint results, so one paper may contribute more than once.
low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol
A result was reported, but the comparison could not be confirmed.
Meta-analysis · Single ingredient · Unspecified population
Analysis coverage and paper counts
1 paper · 1 measured outcome
Review overlap with primary papers is unknown; counts stay separate.
Direction counts are distinct papers within each row. Outcome contributions count endpoint results, so one paper may contribute more than once.
TG
A result was reported, but the comparison could not be confirmed.
Meta-analysis · Single ingredient · Patient group
Analysis coverage and paper counts
1 paper · 1 measured outcome
Review overlap with primary papers is unknown; counts stay separate.
Direction counts are distinct papers within each row. Outcome contributions count endpoint results, so one paper may contribute more than once.
total cholesterol
A result was reported, but the comparison could not be confirmed.
Meta-analysis · Single ingredient · Unspecified population
Analysis coverage and paper counts
1 paper · 1 measured outcome
Review overlap with primary papers is unknown; counts stay separate.
Direction counts are distinct papers within each row. Outcome contributions count endpoint results, so one paper may contribute more than once.
triglyceride (TG)
A result was reported, but the comparison could not be confirmed.
Meta-analysis · Single ingredient · Unspecified population
Analysis coverage and paper counts
1 paper · 1 measured outcome
Review overlap with primary papers is unknown; counts stay separate.
Direction counts are distinct papers within each row. Outcome contributions count endpoint results, so one paper may contribute more than once.
Unspecified measured outcome
The study needs further checking before its result can be interpreted.
Controlled study in people · Single ingredient · Patient group
Between-group comparison
Analysis coverage and paper counts
2 papers · 2 measured outcomes
2 papers held from direction counts
Direction counts are distinct papers within each row. Outcome contributions count endpoint results, so one paper may contribute more than once.
How to read research findings
How should I read research findings?
Research guidesNo clear difference and an uninterpretable result are different
A reported null comparison contains a result. An abstract without an interpretable comparison leaves a question unresolved.
Paper counts and study counts are different
Count original research separately from research that reanalyzes it. Publication volume is neither replication nor a quality rating.
Side effects and combination findings
Findings from this ingredient alone are shown separately from those involving another supplement or medication.
No combination cautions are available to show in the current data. This does not guarantee safety.
Review 1 combination findings and 0 findings that outperformed an ingredient alone.
Reported improvements with combinations
Combination findings are grouped by how the study compared them. This is not a recommendation to combine ingredients.
Combinations with reported improvement
The combination showed improvement, but each ingredient's contribution is unclear.
alpha-linolenic acidCo-supplementation with alpha-linolenic acid (1000 mg) and L-carnitine (500 mg) demonstrated significant improvements in migraine symptoms and mental health parameters compared to placebo.