Effects of L-Carnitine Supplementation on Growth Performance and Fatty Acid Proportion in Epididymal Adipose Tissue of Rats Fed Diets containing Fat from Different Sources

Effects of L-Carnitine Supplementation on Growth Performance and Fatty Acid Proportion in Epididymal Adipose Tissue of Rats Fed Diets containing Fat from Different Sources

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of Lcarnitine supplementation on growth performance and epididymal adipose tissue fatty acid composition in rats fed diets containing different sources of fat. In the first study, rats were assigned to four groups receiving dietary treatments to evaluate the effects of supplementation with L-carnitine 0 ppm or L-carnitine 50 ppm in combination with two types of dietary fat: 100% soybean oil and a mixture of 50% soybean oil and 50% beef tallow. In the second study, the animals walked 2 h/day at a speed of 840 m/h. No significant differences were observed in the growth test results of each study. In experiment 1, the total saturated fatty acid (SFA) proportion was significantly higher in the L-carnitine 0 ppm 50% soybean oil and 50% beef tallow group than in the other groups. Dietary Lcarnitine suppressed the increase in the SFA proportion observed upon beef tallow consumption. In experiment 2, Lcarnitine decreased the SFA proportion and increased the monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) proportion. No interaction between the ingested fat type and L-carnitine supplementation on the proportions of individual fatty acids was observed, but Lcarnitine supplementation increased the C16:1 proportion and decreased the C18:0 proportion as a main effect in experiment 2. In conclusion, the current results suggest that dietary Lcarnitine decreased the SFA proportion in accordance with C18:0 utilization for energy production in walking rats.