Estimation of L-carnitine levels in diabetic completely edentulous patients for implant diagnosis: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Carnitine is effective in preventing the accumulation of end products related to lipid peroxidation due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Carnitine also exerts a significant anti-inflammatory role through the downregulation of the nuclear factor kappa beta pathway, which leads to a decrease in the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines.The aim of the study was to estimate the L-carnitine (L-C) levels in diabetic completely edentulous patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted after the selection of 60 samples based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The collected saliva samples were utilized to measure the levels of L-C using the sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. One hundred microliters of sample was applied to a particular row of wells and incubated for an hour as part of the sandwich ELISA procedure. After the wells had been cleaned, a second batch of monoclonal L-C was added, and they were once more incubated for an hour. The horseradish peroxidase substrate was then applied after washing the second batch as well. To allow the blue-to-yellow color transition, the wells were kept steady. Following the observation of the color shift, the OD was measured, and the concentration was determined using the sandwich ELISA kit's standard curve as an intercept. The data were statistically analyzed using the independent t-test (significant level P < 0.05) and were tabulated. RESULTS: The L-C levels have higher levels in nondiabetic patients than in diabetic patients. The difference in the baseline mean value between the groups was statistically significant (P = 0.00). Although it is statistically significant (P = 0.00), the mean value for diabetic individuals is 0.19 as opposed to 0.29 for nondiabetic patients. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that L-C improves insulin sensitivity and glucose disposal in diabetic completely edentulous patients.