Effects of L-carnitine on growth performance, carcass composition, and metabolism of lipids in male broilers.

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Xu ZR, Wang MQ, Mao HX, Zhan XA, Hu CH

Effects of L-carnitine on growth performance, carcass composition, and metabolism of lipids in male broilers.

Poult Sci. 2003 Mar;82(3):408-13.

PubMed ID

12705401 [ View in PubMed

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Abstract

We studied the effects of L-carnitine on growth performance, carcass composition, and lipid metabolism in male broilers. Six hundred male commercial broilers were allotted to five groups, each of which included three replicates (40 birds per replicate). The groups received the same basal diet supplemented with 0, 25, 50, 75, or 100 mg/kg L-carnitine, respectively. The feeding trial showed that L-carnitine had no significant effect on daily gain or feed conversion. Supplementation with L-carnitine (above 25 mg/kg) in the diet increased breast muscle yield (P < 0.05) and crude fat content of the muscles and decreased abdominal fat content (P < 0.05). Addition of 50, 75, or 100 mg/kg L-carnitine to the diet decreased total activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, malic dehydrogenase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, and lipoprotein lipase (P < 0.05) in the subcutaneous fat and total activity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I (P < 0.05) in breast muscles. The results of this study indicate that L-carnitine could reduce the deposit of subcutaneous fat by decreasing total activities of enzymes in the fat and enhance intramuscular fat by decreasing the activity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I in breast muscles.

DrugBank Data that Cites this Article

Drug Targets

Drug	Target	Kind	Organism	Pharmacological Action	Actions
Levocarnitine	Carnitine O-palmitoyltransferase 1, liver isoform	Protein	Humans	Unknown	Activator	Details