Chemical form of dietary l‐Carnitine affects plasma but not tissue Carnitine concentrations in male Sprague–Dawley rats |
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| Authors: | B D Lambert C M Dobson N M Cherry M G Sanderford |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Animal Sciences, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX, USA;2. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Stephenville, TX, USA;3. Department of Biological Sciences, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX, USA;4. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Stephenville, TX, USA |
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| Abstract: | In Experiment 1, rats (n = 54) were randomly assigned to control or one of the four sources of l ‐Carnitine supplemented at either 100 or 200 μmol/kg/day and were allowed to acclimate for 14 days. Following a 12‐h fast, plasma samples were obtained at 0, 5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 480 and 720 min after l ‐Carnitine feeding and assayed for free l ‐Carnitine concentration. Plasma‐free l ‐Carnitine levels were affected by time after treatment intake (p < 0.0001) and l ‐Carnitine source (p < 0.0001). The time × source interaction was not statistically significant (p = 0.99). In Experiment 2, rats (n = 54) were randomly assigned to control or one of the four sources of l ‐Carnitine at either 100 or 200 μmol/kg/day and were acclimated as in experiment 1. Rats were sacrificed 120 min after feeding. Samples of liver and skeletal muscle were obtained and assayed for free l ‐Carnitine concentration. Neither skeletal muscle (p = 0.44) or liver (p = 0.59) tissue concentrations of l ‐Carnitine were affected by any l ‐Carnitine source as compared with the control. We conclude that some differences exist in plasma concentrations of free l ‐Carnitine following ingestion of different chemical forms of l ‐Carnitine. It is unclear if these differences in the circulating concentration of free l ‐Carnitine translate into any physiological differences for the animal. In this study, chemical form of l ‐Carnitine had no effect on skeletal muscle or liver tissue concentrations of l ‐Carnitine in young male Wistar rats. |
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| Keywords: | l‐Carnitine (free base) l‐Carnitine l‐tartrate Acetyl‐l‐carnitine l‐Carnitine fumarate l‐Carnitine hydrochloride |
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