Carnitine status of lactoovovegetarians and strict vegetarian adults and children
Abstract
Because carnitine is contained primarily in meats and dairy products, vegetarian diets provide a model for assessing the impact of prolonged low carnitine intake on carnitine status. Plasma carnitine concentrations and urinary carnitine excretion were measured in adults and children consuming a strict vegetarian, lactoovovegetarian, or mixed diet. In adults plasma carnitine concentration and urinary carnitine excretion of strict vegetarians and lactoovovegetarians were significantly lower than those in the mixed-diet group but were not different from each other. In children significant differences were found between all three diet groups for both plasma carnitine concentration and urinary carnitine excretion. The differences in plasma carnitine concentrations were greater in children than in adults, possibly reflecting the effects of growth and tissue deposition. Small differences between diet groups in adults do not suggest a nutritionally significant difference in carnitine status. Whether vegetarian children are at greater risk for overt deficiency is not answered.
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Vegetarians (vegans) typically consume ~0.04 to 0.4 μmol/kg/d of carnitine, which results in 20% to 30% lower plasma concentrations compared with omnivores, although this does not fall outside normal limits.
“Vegetarians (vegans) typically only consume ∼0.04 to 0.4 μmol∙kg/d of carnitine [197], which results in 20% to 30% lower plasma concentrations compared with omnivores [197,198], although this does not fall outside the normal limits [199].”
From Nutritional Considerations for the Vegan Athlete (2023) · cites this paper as [199]
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Nutritional Considerations for the Vegan Athlete
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“4 μmol kg/d of carnitine [197], which results in 20% to 30% lower plasma concentrations compared with omnivores [197,198], although this does not fall outside the normal limits [199].”
BackgroundResultVegetarians have a reduced skeletal muscle carnitine transport capacity
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- Authors
- Lombard, K. A., Olson, A. L., Nelson, S. E., & Rebouche, C. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Iowa (US)
- ORCID
- Olson, A L
- Venue
- The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1989-08
- Volume
- 50
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 301-306
- ISSN
- 0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2113622084
- Cited by
- 142
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 1.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (1r01hd022745-01a1, 5r01dk035106-04, 5t32hd007287-05)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK35106)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (T32-HD07287, R01-HD22745)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Clinical Biochemistry › Metabolism and Genetic Disorders
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Keywords
- urinary carnitine excretion, carnitine deficiency, children, adults, mixed diet
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Blood Proteins, Carnitine, Child, Child, Preschool, Diet, Female, Humans, Male, Serum Albumin, Diet, Vegetarian
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