Infertility (IVF Patients)Carnitine SuppNCT07783399
The Effects of Carnitine Supplementation on Oocytes in Women Undergoing IVF Process
A study testing L-Carnitine Group in people with Infertility (IVF Patients), run by The Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinic Narodni Front at 1 site in Serbia.
Trial summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether supplementation with L-carnitine improves outcomes in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). It will also evaluate the effect of supplementation on oocyte quality, embryo quality, and pregnancy rates. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 45 years, women only
- Conditions the study is for
- Infertility (IVF Patients)
- What is being tested?
- L-Carnitine Group
- Type of treatment
- Pill or oral medicine
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 70 participants
- Where
- 1 siteSerbia
- Study dates
- 15 May 2026to 28 Dec 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 45 years
- Women only
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- women undergoing IVF process
- women aged 18-45 years
Who cannot join
- obesity
- severe kidney disease
- liver insufficiency
- endocrine disorders
- the use of immunosuppressive medications
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Serbia1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics Narodni Front
Belgrade, Savski Venac, 11000
Vladimir M Gerginic, MD, +381648754284, vladimir.gerginic@hotmail.com
About this study
Official title: The Effects of Carnitine Supplementation on Oocyte Yield and Quality in Women Undergoing IVF
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether supplementation with L-carnitine improves outcomes in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). It will also evaluate the effect of supplementation on oocyte quality, embryo quality, and pregnancy rates. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Does supplementation improve the number and quality of oocytes retrieved during IVF treatment?
- Does supplementation improve the number and quality of embryos obtained after fertilization?
- Does supplementation increase the rates of biochemical and clinical pregnancy?
Researchers will compare women receiving supplementation with women not receiving supplementation to determine whether the supplements improve IVF outcomes.
Read the detailed description
Participants will:
- Be women undergoing IVF treatment at the Narodni Front Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics who meet the study eligibility criteria and agree to participate.
- Be randomly assigned, using the sealed-envelope method, to one of two groups:
- A supplementation group receiving L-arginine (500 mg), L-carnitine (500 mg), N-acetyl-L-carnitine (250 mg), and myo-inositol (1000 mg) daily.
- A control group receiving no supplementation.
- Take the assigned supplementation for 12 weeks before oocyte retrieval.
- Undergo assessment of the number and quality of retrieved oocytes after oocyte aspiration as part of the standard IVF procedure.
- If fertilization occurs and embryos are obtained, have the number and quality of embryos evaluated as part of the standard IVF procedure.
- Have serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) measured 13 days after embryo transfer to assess biochemical pregnancy as part of the standard IVF procedure.
- If biochemical pregnancy is achieved (β-hCG > 50 IU/L), undergo an ultrasound examination 35 days after embryo transfer to confirm clinical pregnancy as part of the standard IVF procedure.
- Conditions
- Infertility (IVF Patients)
- Being tested
- L-Carnitine Group
- Keywords
- supplementation, IVF, carnitine
- Medical subject headings
- Infertility
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
L-Carnitine GroupDietary supplement
A supplementation group will receive L-carnitine (500 mg) daily for 12 weeks before oocyte retrieval.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| L-Carnitine Group | Experimental | Participants in this arm will receive oral L-carnitine supplementation at a dose of 500 mg daily (once daily, powder dissolved in water, orally) starting 12 weeks before the day of oocyte retrieval. Receives: Dietary Supplement: L-Carnitine Group |
| No supplementation | No intervention | Participants who have not used carnitin supplementation. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
The impact of carnitine supplementation on the number of oocytes retrieved during in vitro fertilization and on IVF outcomes.
Assessment of the total count of oocytes retrieved per patient during transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte retrieval following controlled ovarian stimulation.
Unit of measure: number of oocytes /count/ Measurement tool: inverted light microscope
Measured: 3 months
The impact of carnitine supplementation on the number of good quality oocytes (metaphase II (MII) oocytes) retrieved during oocyte pick-up
Good quality oocytes (metaphase II oocytes) will be identified according to standard ESHRE consensus morphological criteria (evaluating polar body presence, cytoplasm texture, and zona pellucida integrity) using inverted light microscope as measurement tool, following denudation in cases of intracytoplasmatic sperm injection (ICSI) or Metaphase II (MII) oocytes will be identified based on successful fertilization (presence of two pronuclei, 2PN) using inverted light microscope following insemination as part of the IVF procedure.
Unit of measure: number of metaphase II (MII) oocytes /count/ Measurement tool: inverted light microscope
Measured: 3 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted24 Aug 2026
- Study start15 May 2026
- Primary completion1 Sep 2026
- Study completion28 Dec 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (7)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Infertility (IVF Patients)Studies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 70 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- The Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinic Narodni Front
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Milan Perović, The Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinic Narodni Front
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07783399
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 22008-2026-003416
- Acronym
- Carnitine Supp
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 20 Jul 2026
- Last updated
- 16 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Placidi M, Di Emidio G, Virmani A, D'Alfonso A, Artini PG, D'Alessandro AM, Tatone C. Carnitines as Mitochondrial Modulators of Oocyte and Embryo Bioenergetics. Antioxidants (Basel). 2022 Apr 8;11(4):745. doi: 10.3390/antiox11040745.
PubMed 35453430Kalehoei E, Moradi M, Azadbakht M, Zhaleh H, Abadi SAL, Mahdiuni H, Gharzi A. Therapeutic effects of L-arginine, L-carnitine, and mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium on endometriosis-induced oocyte poor quality in an experimental mouse model. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2023 Apr;49(4):1180-1188. doi: 10.1111/jog.15569. Epub 2023 Feb 3.
PubMed 36738084Perovic MD, Sudar-Milovanovic EM, Simonovic ED, Resanovic IM, Draganic VD, Radakovic JD, Soldatovic IA, Isenovic ER. Hypothesis regarding the effects of gonadotropins on the level of free fatty acids and phospholipids in serum and follicular fluid during controlled ovarian stimulation. Med Hypotheses. 2019 Feb;123:30-34. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2018.11.021. Epub 2018 Dec 18.
PubMed 30696588Kitano Y, Hashimoto S, Matsumoto H, Yamochi T, Yamanaka M, Nakaoka Y, Fukuda A, Inoue M, Ikeda T, Morimoto Y. Oral administration of l-carnitine improves the clinical outcome of fertility in patients with IVF treatment. Gynecol Endocrinol. 2018 Aug;34(8):684-688. doi: 10.1080/09513590.2018.1431769. Epub 2018 Jan 29.
PubMed 29378447Hafezi M, Arabipoor A, Ghaffari F, Vesali S, Zareei M, Hessari ZH. Adding L-carnitine to antagonist ovarian stimulation doesn't improve the outcomes of IVF/ ICSI cycle in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome: a double-blind randomized clinical trial. J Ovarian Res. 2024 Jan 9;17(1):9. doi: 10.1186/s13048-023-01319-7.
PubMed 38191449Dunning KR, Robker RL. Promoting lipid utilization with l-carnitine to improve oocyte quality. Anim Reprod Sci. 2012 Sep;134(1-2):69-75. doi: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2012.08.013. Epub 2012 Aug 11.
PubMed 22917873Zhao W, Liu K, Zhang Y, Sun P, Zeringue E, Meng L, Ma H. The efficacy of orally administered L-carnitine in alleviating ovarian dysfunctions has laid the foundation for targeted in vivo use: a study employing self-control and propensity score matching. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2024 Sep 18;15:1440182. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1440182. eCollection 2024.
PubMed 39359417