Abstract
BackgroundIt has been shown that plasma carnitine concentrations decrease markedly during gestation. A recent study performed with a low number of subjects suggested that this effect could be due to a low iron status which leads to an impairment of carnitine synthesis. The present study aimed to confirm this finding in a greater number of subjects. It was moreover intended to find out whether low carnitine concentrations during pregnancy could be due to a reduced availability of precursors of carnitine synthesis, namely trimethyllysine (TML) and γ-butyrobetaine (BB).MethodsBlood samples of 79 healthy pregnant women collected at delivery were used for this study.ResultsThere was only a weak, non-significant (P > 0.05), correlation between plasma concentration of ferritin and those of free and total carnitine. There was no correlation between other parameters of iron status (plasma iron concentration, hemoglobin, MCV, MCH) and plasma concentration of free and total carnitine. There were, however, significant (P < 0.05) positive correlations between concentrations of TML and BB and those of free and total carnitine in plasma.ConclusionsThe results of this study suggest that an insufficient iron status is not the reason for low plasma carnitine concentrations observed in pregnant women. It is rather indicated that low plasma carnitine concentrations are caused by a low availability of precursors for carnitine synthesis during gestation.
Highlights
It has been shown that plasma carnitine concentrations decrease markedly during gestation
We suggested that low plasma carnitine concentrations are caused by a reduced carnitine synthesis due to a reduced activity of irondependent enzymes involved in carnitine synthesis
Concentrations of carnitine and the carnitine precursors as well as iron concentration showed a larger variation between the subjects than those of MCV, MCH, Hb and ferritin
Summary
It has been shown that plasma carnitine concentrations decrease markedly during gestation. A recent study performed with a low number of subjects suggested that this effect could be due to a low iron status which leads to an impairment of carnitine synthesis. The present study aimed to confirm this finding in a greater number of subjects. Carnitine (L-3-hydroxy-4-N-N-N-trimethylaminobutyrate) is an essential metabolite, which has a number of indispensable functions in intermediary metabolism. All tissues that use fatty acids as a fuel source require carnitine for normal function. Carnitine is derived from dietary sources and endogenous biosynthesis [4,5]. Carnitine biosynthesis involves a complex series of reactions involving several tissues [6].
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