title: Evaluation of energy sources with and without carnitine in newborn pig heart and liver.
abstract: The oxidation rate of five energy substrates with and without exogenous addition of carnitine in the heart and liver of 15-h-old nonsuckled piglets was evaluated. Oxygen consumption (nmol O2.mg protein-1.min-1) in heart and liver for five substrates were: pyruvate, 0.248, 0.191; palmitoyl-CoA, 0.042, 0.034; palmitoyl-carnitine, 0.249, 0.111; isovalerate, 0.084, 0.059; acetoacetate, 0.166, 0.068, respectively. The addition of free carnitine doubled the rate of palmitoyl-CoA utilization in both heart and liver, but palmitoyl-CoA oxidation was always much lower than that of palmitoyl-carnitine. In livers of piglets from sows fed 8% fat, palmitoyl-carnitine oxidation was slower (P less than 0.03) than in piglets from sows fed 0% fat. Heart tissue metabolized isovalerate faster (P less than 0.02) when piglets were from sows fed fat compared with those from the nonfat group. A lysine x fat interaction was observed for piglet liver metabolism of isovalerate and acetoacetate, suggesting that a more metabolically developed pig results when sows are fed 0.48% lysine without supplemental fat during gestation. Carnitine did not seem to be the limiting factor for the oxidation of palmitoyl-CoA, and gestational dietary fat and lysine seemed to influence substrate metabolism in the newborn pig.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman 99164-6320.
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Honeyfield
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Froseth
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000378:metabolism*; D002331:Carnitine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000378:metabolism*; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects*; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008239:Lysine / Q000378:metabolism; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism*; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D011247:Pregnancy; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D008239:Lysine; D002331:Carnitine