CompoAtlas

L-carnitine in food supplements

571 supplements declared in France contain L-carnitine as a substance or active ingredient.

Declarations also use the name: Carnitine. Separate page, as the form (L or D) is not always stated.

Other names in the Compl'Alim list: carnitine.

Compl'Alim declarations. Compl'Alim, food supplement declarations (France), retrieved 23 October 2026.

Maximum dose in France

Carnitine: La quantité présente dans la portion journalière recommandée ne doit pas dépasser 2 000 mg. Toutes les formes d'apport contiennent une carnitine de haute pureté chimique (99 % de l'énantiomère L).

Order of 26 September 2016, Annex I. French orders of 9 May 2006 (nutrients), 24 June 2014 (plants) and 26 September 2016 (other substances), consolidated LEGI collection, retrieved 23 October 2026.

What we know about this ingredient

Uses

  • Used therapeutically for myocardial injury after ischemia and reperfusion by counteracting the toxic effect of high levels of free fatty acids, which occur in ischemia, and by improving carbohydrate metabolism

  • Used to treat carnitine deficiency

  • Calculated removal (%): 92.1

  • Consumption (g per capita; approx.) in Germany (2009): 0.0122

  • Excretion rate: 0.09

  • Use (kg; approx.) in Germany (2009): >1000

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · PMID:15591005 Ferrari R et al; Ann NY Acad Sci 1033: 79-91 (2004); Physicians Desk Reference. 59th ed. Thomson PDR. Montvale, NJ 2005., p. 3144.

Licence.

PubChem : NORMAN Suspect List Exchange · 2026-10-29 · DOI:10.1021/acs.est.5b03332.

Licence.

Use classification

  • Cosmetics -> Foam boosting; Cleansing

PubChem : NORMAN Suspect List Exchange · 2026-10-29 · S13 | EUCOSMETICS | Combined Inventory of Ingredients Employed in Cosmetic Products (2000) and Revised Inventory (2006) | DOI:10.5281/zenodo.2624118.

Licence.

A molecule found naturally in plants or organisms; in a supplement it may be extracted from them, made by fermentation or synthesised: the declaration does not say which.

Basis: one CosIngThe European Commission's database of cosmetic ingredients. CAS and natural occurrence recorded in Wikidata (LOTUS database).

Wikidata: names of substances in six languages and taxa in which they occur (largely from the LOTUS database), retrieved 23 October 2026.

Natural occurrence recorded in Wikidata (LOTUS database): 11 taxa; examples: Panax ginseng, Hordeum vulgare, Phaseolus vulgaris, Trametes versicolor, Amanita muscaria.

Wikidata: names of substances in six languages and taxa in which they occur (largely from the LOTUS database), retrieved 23 October 2026.

Manufacturing

  • Enantioselective synthesis from glycerol

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · O'Neil, M.J. (ed.). The Merck Index - An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck and Co., Inc., 2006., p. 300.

Licence.

Appearance

  • White, crystalline, hygroscopic powder

PubChem : Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB) · 2026-10-29 · Physicians Desk Reference. 59th ed. Thomson PDR. Montvale, NJ 2005., p. 3144.

Licence.

Associated research

ClinicalTrials.gov · A trial is not proof: it tests a hypothesis.

Searched on 1 November 2026.

Other names: L-Carnitin (German), L-carnitina (Spanish), L-carnitina (Italian), L-carnitina (Portuguese).

Wikidata: names of substances in six languages and taxa in which they occur (largely from the LOTUS database), retrieved 23 October 2026.

Same substance in cosmetics: CARNITINE.

In plain words

À quoi il sert, selon les fabricants

Objectifs les plus souvent annoncés pour les compléments qui en contiennent (L-carnitine) : sport (203 produits), minceur / brûleur (130 produits), gestion du poids / minceur (63 produits), minceur / ventre plat (36 produits), minceur / modérateur d'appétit (32 produits).

Ce sont les objectifs déclarés par les fabricants à l'administration, pas des effets démontrés. Sur l'emballage, seules les allégations de santé autorisées par l'Union peuvent être écrites.

Compl'Alim, food supplement declarations (France), retrieved 23 October 2026.

What the registers say, country by country

Each line repeats what an official register says on the date it was consulted. Not being in a register means neither allowed nor banned.

Health claims register (European Union): 0 authorised and 12 refused claim(s) for this substance.

EU Register of nutrition and health claims, retrieved 21 October 2026.

Compl'Alim ingredient list (France): listed.

Compl'Alim, reference list of ingredients, retrieved 21 October 2026.

Canada, licensed natural health products (LNHPD): 774 products.

Licensed Natural Health Products Database (LNHPD), Health Canada: licensed products, ingredients, doses, uses and risks, retrieved 27 October 2026.

Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Health Canada, LNHPD)

Licence du gouvernement ouvert – Canada 2.0 (OGL-Canada 2.0)

United States, supplement labels (DSLD; supplements need no prior approval): 1256 products.

Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD), US National Institutes of Health: current and off-market labels, retrieved 27 October 2026.

Source: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Dietary Supplement Label Database (CC0); US market labels.

Malaysia, registered products: 8 products.

NPRA, Malaysian pharmaceutical products register, retrieved 27 October 2026.

Ministry of Health Malaysia / NPRA, Pharmaceutical Products, CC BY 4.0

CC BY 4.0

Poland, notified supplements: 4 products.

GIS, products notified in Poland, retrieved 27 October 2026.

Główny Inspektorat Sanitarny (GIS), Rejestr produktów objętych powiadomieniem

CC BY 4.0

Taiwan, registered products: 143 products.

TFDA, Taiwan tablets, capsules and medical nutrition registers, retrieved 27 October 2026.

Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA), Open Government Data License, version 1.0

Open Government Data License, version 1.0

United States, supplements listed by the USDA: 28 products.

USDA FoodData Central Branded, supplement cohort, retrieved 29 October 2026.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, FoodData Central, Branded Foods. Data published under CC0 1.0 Universal, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/.

CC0 1.0 Universal, domaine public

Official warnings (Health Canada)

L-CARNITINE

Route of administration: Oral

Cautions and warnings

Ask a health care practitioner/health care provider/health care professional/doctor/physician before use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding (CPS 2008).

1 study cited in the text has no matching reference in the monograph (see the anomalies listed on the sources page).

Ask a health care practitioner/health care provider/health care professional/doctor/physician before use if you have a seizure disorder (CPS 2008).

1 study cited in the text has no matching reference in the monograph (see the anomalies listed on the sources page).

Health Canada monograph dated 25 July 2025

Texts from the monograph of Health Canada, the Canadian authority, reproduced without modification. They do not replace medical advice.

Products