理論上, L-carnitine有助於長鏈脂肪酸(long-chain fatty acids)進入粒線體中進行氧化作用, 不過這只有在本身體內脂肪酸氧化作用受限者,以下引述Williams (2002): Theoretically, supplemental carnitine might facilitate the transport of long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondria for oxidation, which would be an important consideration if the oxidation of fatty acids was limited by their transport into the mitochondria.
而L-carnitine在人體的肝臟中, 也可利用胺基酸(lysine與methionine)而自行合成....一般而言, 缺乏L-carnitine的人是很少見的!!