{
  "slug": "l-carnitine",
  "name": "L-Carnitine",
  "alternate_names": [
    "L-Carnitine",
    "Levocarnitine",
    "Carnitine"
  ],
  "mechanism": [
    "Carnitine shuttle transporting long-chain fatty acyl-CoA into mitochondria (CPT1/CPT2) for beta-oxidation",
    "Acetyl-group buffering of the mitochondrial acyl-CoA pool",
    "OCTN2-mediated cellular uptake; conditionally essential, endogenously synthesized from lysine + methionine"
  ],
  "target": [
    "CPT1 / CPT2",
    "OCTN2 (SLC22A5)",
    "PPARalpha",
    "Mitochondrial fatty-acid oxidation"
  ],
  "use_case": [
    "body-weight / body-composition (overweight/obese research-context)",
    "exercise performance / endurance-recovery (research-context)",
    "mitochondrial fatty-acid-oxidation bioenergetics (educational context)"
  ],
  "body_system": [
    "MITO",
    "MUSCULO",
    "METABOLISM",
    "CARDIO"
  ],
  "evidence_tier": "A",
  "evidence_anchor_pmid_count": 3,
  "dosage_range": "2-3 g/day for body-composition research (>=12 weeks); 2-4 g/day with >=80 g carbohydrate co-ingestion for muscle-loading research; DSLD median marketed dose 500 mg/day; single doses best kept <=2 g for high-TMAO converters. Educational reference, not a directive.",
  "safety_notes": "Short-term intake <=3 g/day generally well tolerated; common effect is a fishy body/urine/breath odor from trimethylamine metabolism. TMAO caution: gut microbiota can convert high-dose oral carnitine to TMAO with inter-individual variation (Krims-Davis 2025 PMID 41243468). Contraindicated context for primary carnitine transporter disorders and beta-oxidation defects (MCAD/VLCAD) — physician evaluation needed. Drug interactions: warfarin, valproate. Prescription Levocarnitine (Carnitor) is a separate medical indication.",
  "regulatory": {
    "fda": "Self-affirmed GRAS + 21 CFR 107.100 optional infant-formula nutrient; dietary supplement under DSHEA (structure/function claims only). Prescription Levocarnitine (Carnitor) is an FDA-approved drug for primary carnitine deficiency / dialysis — a medical, not supplement, pathway",
    "efsa": "Food supplement under Directive 2002/46/EC (pre-1997 use history, no Novel Food authorization required). ZERO authorized health claims: EFSA rejected L-carnitine/ALCAR/PLC claims for lipid/fat metabolism, fatigue recovery, endurance and cognition. Only neutral nutrition-role description permitted",
    "anvisa": "RDC 243/2018 / IN 28/2018 supplement framework; carnitine listed in Anexo I as an authorized constituent; no standalone authorized efficacy claim"
  },
  "authorized_claims": [],
  "ingredient_hub_url": "https://asxan.ai/ingredients/l-carnitine/",
  "related_goal_slugs": [
    "weight-management",
    "heart-health"
  ],
  "related_lifestyle_slugs": [
    "athletic-performance"
  ],
  "last_evidence_review": "2026-06-13",
  "schema_version": "nc-public-v0.2",
  "api_version": "nc-public-v0.3",
  "_meta": {
    "last_evidence_review": "2026-06-13",
    "ip_axes_disclosed": {
      "public_axes": [
        "mechanism",
        "target",
        "use_case",
        "body_system",
        "evidence_tier",
        "dosage_range",
        "safety_notes",
        "regulatory",
        "authorized_claims"
      ],
      "ip_axes_not_exposed": [
        "proprietary_formula_ratios",
        "clinical_protocol_internals",
        "rnd_pipeline_compounds",
        "supplier_specific_grade_specifications",
        "unpublished_endpoint_data"
      ],
      "rationale": "asxan.ai surfaces the educational, evidence-tier-disclosed slice. Formula composition, clinical-protocol internals, and RnD pipeline data are intentionally outside this public surface."
    }
  }
}