Acute effect of L-carnitine on skeletal muscle force tests in dogs

Using the mixed type musculus latissimus dorsi of the dog in the present work, we show the effect of carnitine on an in situ fatigue test. L-Carnitine appears to improve force of this muscle by 34% while stimulated in situ. This effect of carnitine is acute and (stereo)specific, since neither D-carnitine nor the structural analogue choline (also a tertiary amine) has a positive effect on contractile force. Because skeletal muscle is rich in carnitine and because carnitine transport is slow, its effect must be exerted outside the striated muscle cells. Insulin (with glucose) administration abolished the carnitine effect. It is speculated that facilitation of fatty acid oxidation in the blood vessel wall is the basis for this positive effect of carnitine.