Rospond Bartłomiej, Chłopicka Joanna
Zakład Toksykologii, Wydział Farmaceutyczny Collegium Medicum, Uniwersytet Jagielloński Kraków.
Przegl Lek. 2013;70(2):85-91.
The aim of this article is to provide information about L-carnitine, its physiological role in the human body and its content in some foods. This chemical compound is mainly synthesized in the liver, kidney and brain and is composed of two aminoacids, lyzine and metionine. L-carnitine regulates the level of acylo-CoA and CoA in the mitochondium and cytozolum, and it provides acetyl moieties for the biosythesis of acetocholine. L-carnitine plays a vital function in the metabolism of lipids and it carries long-chain fatty acids into mitochondria for beta-oxidation. An increase of the amount of L-carnitine in the human body may lead to reduction and inhibition of production of fatty tissue. Despite the fact that human body can synthesise L-carnitine, about 80% of this chemical compound is delivered by food. It is crucial, especially for people who are on a slimming diet, to choose products rich in L-carnitine because this compound may potentially reduce the body weight. Animal by-products contain the highest amount of L-carnitine, and these are, e.g , kangaroo meat (637 mg), horse meat (423mg), beef (139 mg per 100 g of dry weight). The amount of L-carnitine in milk products may range from 1,4 to 42,8 mg per 100 g of dry matter. Vegetables and fruits are products which contain less than 5 mg of L-carnitine per 100 g of dry matter. Lipids are also very low in L-carnitine, e.g sunflower oil is free from this compound. It is worth mentioning that mushrooms are richer in L-carnitine than plants. The amount of L-carnitine (53 mg/100 g dry matter) in pleureotus ostreatus equals approximately 100 g of minced pork.
本文旨在提供有关左旋肉碱的信息，它在人体中的生理作用以及在某些食物中的含量。这种化合物主要在肝脏、肾脏和大脑中合成，由两种氨基酸，即赖氨酸和蛋氨酸组成。左旋肉碱调节线粒体和细胞质中酰基辅酶A和辅酶A的水平，并为乙酰胆碱的生物合成提供乙酰部分。左旋肉碱在脂质代谢中起着至关重要的作用，它将长链脂肪酸带入线粒体进行β氧化。人体中左旋肉碱含量的增加可能会导致脂肪组织生成的减少和抑制。尽管人体可以合成左旋肉碱，但这种化合物约80%是由食物提供的。对于正在进行减肥饮食的人来说，选择富含左旋肉碱的产品至关重要，因为这种化合物可能会潜在地减轻体重。动物副产品中左旋肉碱的含量最高，例如袋鼠肉（637毫克）、马肉（423毫克）、牛肉（每100克干重139毫克）。每100克干物质中，乳制品中左旋肉碱的含量可能在1.4至42.8毫克之间。蔬菜和水果每100克干物质中含有的左旋肉碱不到5毫克。脂质中的左旋肉碱含量也非常低，例如葵花籽油中不含这种化合物。值得一提的是，蘑菇中的左旋肉碱含量比植物中的更丰富。平菇中左旋肉碱的含量（53毫克/100克干物质）大约相当于100克碎猪肉中的含量。
