Development of intestinal carnitine transport in rats

The intestinal transport of carnitine in suckling rats (12 and 16 days old) and weaned rats (28 and 75 days old) was studied in vitro using everted small intestinal sacs. The sacs were incubated in a mucosal medium without carnitine or with added carnitine at a 200-microM concentration. The release of endogenous carnitine and its esters into the serosal medium was greatest in the 12-day-old pups and lowest in the postweaning period. In contrast, the transport of carnitine from the mucosal to the serosal compartment was lowest in the 12-day-old pups and higher in the older groups. The present study suggests that the transfer of carnitine from the mucosal to the serosal compartment is influenced by the presence of endogenous carnitine in the intestinal mucosa, which in turn is determined by the age of the animals.