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Positive influence of l ‐carnitine on the different muscle fibres types of racing pigeons
Author(s) -
Chang M. H.,
Tsai F. H.,
Chou S. J.,
Wang J. H.,
Lo D. Y.,
Zheng Z. Z.,
Chan K. W.,
Lai J. M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.651
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1439-0396
pISSN - 0931-2439
DOI - 10.1111/jpn.12135
Subject(s) - carnitine , lactate dehydrogenase , pectoralis muscle , biology , messenger rna , medicine , endocrinology , anatomy , enzyme , biochemistry , gene
Summary Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), Ca 2+ ATPase, Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), are involved in energy metabolism. These enzymes can be used as indicators of the energy capacity of aerobic cells. The study investigated the effects of l ‐carnitine supplementation on M. pectoralis superficialis, M. pectoralis profundus, M. extensor carpi radialis muscle and M. flexor carpi ulnaris. Twenty‐eight racing pigeons hatched at the same time were divided randomly into three groups. Eight pigeons, which were used as the control group, were sacrificed at 92‐day old. The remaining twenty pigeons continued training until they reached 157‐day old, with half the pigeons getting 25 mg/head/day of l ‐carnitine, while the other half given the same amount of water. The pigeons were assessed by histochemical methods and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). To assess influence of l ‐ carnitine on muscle fibre composition and the performance of three genes' mRNA , this study applied SDH localization, SDH , Ca 2+ ATPase and LDH mRNA expression to examine the results after oral administration of l ‐carnitine in vivo in racing pigeons. The results showed that l ‐carnitine significantly elevated the amount of white muscle fibre type IIa (p < 0.05). The mRNA expression quantities of SDH and LDH gene was higher via RT‐PCR method. However, the expression of Ca 2+ ATPase remains similar. In conclusion, appropriate oral administration of l ‐carnitine of 25 mg/pigeon/day will result in an improvement of muscles related to flying.