Objectives: Obesity is a major global health issue, resulting in significant costs and increased mortality rates.
Finding effective treatments for obesity is therefore essential. This study investigated the combined effects of LCarnitine (LC) and Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) on weight loss and adipose tissue microRNA levels.
Subjects /methods: Forty male Wistar rats weighing 150–200 g and about 8 weeks old were fed either a normal fat
diet (NFD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks. Afterwards, the HFD group was randomly divided into four
subgroups: control, LC (200 mg kg− 1
), CLA (500 mg kg− 1
), and both (n = 8 in each group). The study lasted for
an additional 4 weeks. The animals’ weights were recorded regularly, and after 12 weeks, miRNAs were
extracted from epididymal adipose tissue and analysed using real-time PCR. The miRNA expression levels of miR27a and miR-143 were compared between groups using Kolmogorov-Smirnov and one-way ANOVA tests in SPSS
software.
Results: At the end of the first 8 weeks, the HFD group weighed significantly more than the NFD group. LC
significantly decreased weight gain (4.2%) compared to the control group, whereas CLA alone (3.5%) or in
combination with LC (3.1%) did not significantly slow weight gain. Real-time PCR results showed that the HFD
group had higher miR-143 levels and lower miR-27a levels compared to the NFD group. LC and CLA increased
miR-27a expression after 4 weeks, but their combination decreased miR-27a expression. CLA alone reduced miR143 expression, whereas LC had almost no effect. Their combination also reduced miR-143 expression.
Conclusion: CLA and LC, which are considered weight loss supplements, can potentially regulate metabolism and
cellular pathways. However, their combination did not show a synergistic effect on weight loss, possibly due to
the reduction in miR-27a expression. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effects of combined fat burners
on obesity treatment.