title: The adverse effects of long-term l-carnitine supplementation on liver and kidney function in rats.
abstract: Levo-Carnitine (l-carnitine) is widely used in health and food. This study was to focus on the adverse effects of 8-week oral supplementation of l-carnitine (0.3 and 0.6 g/kg) in female and male Sprague Dawley rats. l-carnitine reduced body and fat weights, as well as serum, liver, and kidney lipid levels in rats. Simultaneously, hepatic fatty acid β-oxidation and lipid synthesis were disturbed in l-carnitine-fed rats. Moreover, l-carnitine accelerated reactive oxygen species production in serum and liver, thereby triggering hepatic NOD-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation to elevate serum interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18 levels in rats. Alteration of serum alkaline phosphatase levels further confirmed liver dysfunction in l-carnitine-fed rats. Additionally, l-carnitine may potentially disturb kidney function by altering renal protein levels of rat organic ion transporters. These observations may provide the caution information for the safety of long-term l-carnitine supplementation.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Liu
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
authors: D-M
authors: DM
authors: Zhang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
authors: M-X
authors: MX
authors: Wang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
authors: C-Y
authors: CY
authors: Fan
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Zhou
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
authors: S-J
authors: SJ
authors: Wang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China kongld@nju.edu.cn.
authors: L-D
authors: LD
authors: Kong
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001806:Blood Urea Nitrogen; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002331:Carnitine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000097:blood; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000097:blood; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D000071199:NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; C000594089:IL1B protein, rat; D020382:Interleukin-18; D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D008055:Lipids; D000071199:NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; C573346:Nlrp3 protein, rat; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; D002331:Carnitine
keywords: NLRP3 inflammasome; ROS; l-carnitine; lipid metabolism; liver and kidney dysfunction