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Comparison of the Effects of l-Carnitine and Acetyl-l-Carnitine on Carnitine Levels, Ambulatory Activity, and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in the Brain of Old Rats
aDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA bNutritional Genomics Center, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California 94609, USA cInstitute for Brain Aging and Dementia, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, USA dDepartment of Hematology and Oncology, Osaka University, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
Address for correspondence: Bruce N. Ames, Ph.D., Nutritional Genomics Center, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, 5700 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland, CA 94609. Voice: 510-450-7625; fax: 510-597-7128. bames{at}chori.org
l-Carnitine and acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) are both used to improve mitochondrial function. Although it has been argued that ALC is better than l-carnitine in absorption and activity, there has been no experiment to compare the two compounds at the same dose. In the present experiment, the effects of ALC and l-carnitine on the levels of free, acyl, and total l-carnitine in plasma and brain, rat ambulatory activity, and biomarkers of oxidative stress are investigated. Aged rats (23 months old) were given ALC or l-carnitine at 0.15% in drinking water for 4 weeks. l-Carnitine and ALC were similar in elevating carnitine levels in plasma and brain. Both increased ambulatory activity similarly. However, ALC decreased the lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde, MDA) in the old rat brain, while l-carnitine did not. ALC decreased the extent of oxidized nucleotides (oxo8dG/oxo8G) immunostaining in the hippocampal CA1 and cortex, while l-carnitine did not. ALC decreased nitrotyrosine immunostaining in the hippocampal CA1 and white matter, while l-carnitine did not. In conclusion, ALC and l-carnitine were similar in increasing ambulatory activity in old rats and elevating carnitine levels in blood and brain. However, ALC was effective, unlike l-carnitine, in decreasing oxidative damage, including MDA, oxo8dG/oxo8G, and nitrotyrosine, in old rat brain. These data suggest that ALC may be a better dietary supplement than l-carnitine.
Key Words: acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) • l-carnitine • ambulatory activity • malondialdehyde (MDA) • nitrotyrosine • oxo8dG/oxo8G This article has been cited by other articles:
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