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Review
. 2018 Mar 28;19(4):1008.
doi: 10.3390/ijms19041008.

The Impact of Carnitine on Dietary Fiber and Gut Bacteria Metabolism and Their Mutual Interaction in Monogastrics

Abdallah Ghonimy  1 , Dong Ming Zhang  2   3 , Mohammed Hamdy Farouk  4   5 , Qiuju Wang  6
Affiliations
Review

The Impact of Carnitine on Dietary Fiber and Gut Bacteria Metabolism and Their Mutual Interaction in Monogastrics

Abdallah Ghonimy et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Carnitine has vital roles in the endogenous metabolism of short chain fatty acids. It can protect and support gut microbial species, and some dietary fibers can reduce the available iron involved in the bioactivity of carnitine. There is also an antagonistic relationship between high microbial populations and carnitine bioavailability. This review shows the interactions between carnitine and gut microbial composition. It also elucidates the role of carnitine bacterial metabolism, mitochondrial function, fiber fermentability, and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs).

Keywords: absorption; butyrate; fermentation; microbial composition; propionate.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Carnitine and iron absorption in the intestines. Non-absorbed dietary carnitine reaches the large intestine (colonocytes), where bacterial sporulation-stimulating factor (CSF) competes with carnitine on the organic cation transporter novel 2 (Octn2) transporter, leading to reduced carnitine absorption. Iron conjugated to fiber is absorbed less in the small intestine (enterocytes), but is absorbed more in the large intestine, as bacterial fermentation can dissociate such conjugates.
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