Plasma carnitine in fasting neonatal and adult northern elephant seals

Maintenance of adequate body carnitine stores is a requisite for fasting mammals, whose energy is derived mainly from free fatty acid oxidation. The impact of longterm fasting on carnitine status is unclear, and there have been no reports of carnitine during naturally occurring fasts. Total (TC), free (FC), and acylated (AC) plasma carnitine levels were determined in 10 weaned and 11 adult northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) during natural fasts lasting from 1 to 3 mo. In pups, TC declined little and AC increased only slightly [P greater than 0.05, analysis of variance (ANOVA)] through 11 wk of fasting. Plasma FC dropped by 53 and 26% from week 1 values at 10 and 11 wk fasting, respectively (P = 0.014, ANOVA). The AC/FC ratio did not approach 1.0 until 7 wk of fasting. TC was 38.6 +/- 1.4 microM and 47.6 +/- 4.1 microM in adult females and males, respectively. Adult AC/FC ratios were 0.71 +/- 0.10 (females) and 0.08 +/- 0.04 (males). Plasma TC status is not negatively affected by extended fasting in adult and weaned northern elephant seals. These data support the hypothesis that fasting northern elephant seals defend plasma TC and maintain an attenuated AC/FC ratio well into their prolonged natural fast.