Supplement Label Index

Acetyl-L-Carnitine Hydrochloride vs. L-Carnitine Fumarate

Among 2,330 on-market l-carnitine products with an identifiable primary form, 23.3% use Acetyl-L-Carnitine Hydrochloride (542 products) and 8.8% use L-Carnitine Fumarate (205).

Acetyl-L-Carnitine HydrochlorideL-Carnitine Fumarate
Quality tierUnratedUnrated
L-Carnitine by weight67.3%58.1%
Share of market23.3%8.8%
On-market products542205
Median declared dose336.5 mg
middle half: 134.6–400.15
200 mg
middle half: 58.1–290.5
Most common brandsCore Nutritionals, Vitamin World, Gamma LabsDr. Sinatra, Source Naturals, BulkSupplements.com

Doses are declared per serving in mg. “By weight” is the share of the ingredient that is the nutrient itself (e.g. elemental magnesium in a magnesium salt).

Why Acetyl-L-Carnitine Hydrochloride is unrated

Same ALC molecule as a hydrochloride salt; no human comparison of salts.

Source: Sima AA et al. 2005, PMID 15616239

Why L-Carnitine Fumarate is unrated

No head-to-head human bioavailability or efficacy comparison of this form was located in PubMed searches.

Tiers summarize published comparative bioavailability or outcome evidence for each form (see methodology). This page describes the market; it is not a recommendation to take either form. Talk to a clinician about what's right for you.

Other l-carnitine comparisons