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Lifterforlife
New member
Some interesting stuff on ALCAR...and it seems that adding lipoic acid intensifies benefits.
L-Carnitine (ß-hydroxy-gammatrimethylammonium butylate) --
(CH3)3N+-CH2-CH(OH)-CH2-COO- -- is a nutrient normally obtained in the diet from meat (muscle). It is synthesized in the liver from lysine and methionine. Carnitine promotes fatty acid oxidation (fat metabolism) in muscle, thereby promoting efficient energy production.
Fats (fatty acids) cannot be metabolized unless they are transported into mitochondria by carnitine. Fat is a primary source of energy in muscle, notably in heart muscle. Once in the mitochondria fatty acid chains are broken into two-carbon acetyl-CoA units (a process known as ß-oxidation). (A modified ß-oxidation also occurs in peroxisomes.) Acetyl-CoA can then be converted to ATP via the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation.
The acetylated version of carnitine, Actyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR) is absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, enters cells and crosses the blood-brain barrier more readily than unacetylated carnitine, and is therefore more suitable as a nutritional supplement.
Carnitine acetyltransferase is the enzyme catalyst which reversibly converts acetyl-CoA and carnitine to acetylcarnitine and CoEnzyme A (CoA) -- thus allowing peroxisomal ß-oxidation and the transport of fatty acid acetyl groups into the mitochondria for ß-oxidation. Carnitine acetyltransferase binding-affinity and activity decreases with age due to protein modification by aldehydes from lipid peroxidation.
L-Carnitine (ß-hydroxy-gammatrimethylammonium butylate) --
(CH3)3N+-CH2-CH(OH)-CH2-COO- -- is a nutrient normally obtained in the diet from meat (muscle). It is synthesized in the liver from lysine and methionine. Carnitine promotes fatty acid oxidation (fat metabolism) in muscle, thereby promoting efficient energy production.
Fats (fatty acids) cannot be metabolized unless they are transported into mitochondria by carnitine. Fat is a primary source of energy in muscle, notably in heart muscle. Once in the mitochondria fatty acid chains are broken into two-carbon acetyl-CoA units (a process known as ß-oxidation). (A modified ß-oxidation also occurs in peroxisomes.) Acetyl-CoA can then be converted to ATP via the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation.
The acetylated version of carnitine, Actyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR) is absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, enters cells and crosses the blood-brain barrier more readily than unacetylated carnitine, and is therefore more suitable as a nutritional supplement.
Carnitine acetyltransferase is the enzyme catalyst which reversibly converts acetyl-CoA and carnitine to acetylcarnitine and CoEnzyme A (CoA) -- thus allowing peroxisomal ß-oxidation and the transport of fatty acid acetyl groups into the mitochondria for ß-oxidation. Carnitine acetyltransferase binding-affinity and activity decreases with age due to protein modification by aldehydes from lipid peroxidation.
