Answer to Question #64416 in Biochemistry for Craig Taylor

Question

I have read alot about L-carnitine supplements and their benefits. The only thing I do not understand is that when you ingest the supplement, is the peptide not just broken down into amino acids?

I know what carnitine can do for the body when produced internally, but in the end you are just absorbing previous components of the peptide when taking a supplement. So how can claims be made about it, when in the end you just get some extra amino acids that your body could take and make anything out of?

Answer 1

Carnitine transports long-chain acyl groups from fatty acids into the mitochondrial matrix, so they can be broken down through β-oxidation to acetyl CoA to obtain usable energy via the citric acid cycle.