Effect of short term supplementation with L-carnitin and coenzyme Q10 on aerobic and anaerobic exercise performance in sedentary college men

In skeletal muscle, carnitine plays an essential role in translocation of long-chain fatty-acids for subsequent beta-oxidation; in addition, coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone, CoQ10) is a component of the mitochondrial electron transport chain and also an important antioxidant. Despite abundant literature describing the basic mechanism of L-carnitine and CoQ10 metabolism, there remains some uncertainty regarding the effect of oral L-carnitine and CoQ10 supplementation. The aim of this study was to investigate effect of CoQ10 and L-carnitine supplementation on aerobic and anaerobic exercise performance in healthy inactive collegiate men. In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial, 40 subjects (age: 23.01±2.97 y, weight: 72.9±11.71 kg and height: 176.80±5.36 cm) participated in two test sessions separated by 10 days. Subjects were randomly allocated into parallel groups to receive either CoQ10 (3 mg/kg/day), L-carnitin (30 mg/kg/day), both of them, or placebo, for 10 days. A 30-second Wingate anaerobic capacity test for determination of fatigue index (FI), and a maximal cardiopulmonary graded exercise test (modified Bruce protocol), for direct determination of VO2max by gas analyzer, were performed on the day before and after supplementation period. Data was analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and paired sample T test. Results showed that co-supplementation with L-carnitine and CoQ10 had a significant incremental effect on VO2max (p< 0.05). In the L-carnitine group, VO2max showed a tendency to increase but it was not significant (p=0.096). FI decreased by 7.7% with L-carnitine + CoQ10, compared with 4.9% increase in placebo group; however this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.099). Only supplementation with L-carnitine could significantly improve the fatigue index (p<0.05). ‍ Short term co-supplementation with L-carnitine and CoQ10 may improve aerobic and anaerobic exercise performance in inactive collegiate men.