Effect of inhibiting carnitine biosynthesis on male rat sexual performance.

l-carnitine has a documented role as a cofactor in cellular energy metabolism and fatty acid beta-oxidation pathways and it has also been considered to function in reproductive biology. We investigated whether decreasing concentrations of L-carnitine using an inhibitor of its biosynthesis, mildronate (3-(2,2,2-trimethylhydrazinium)-propionate), would influence the sexual behavior or sperm quality in male rats. Mildronate treatment induced a significant decrease in carnitine concentration and an increase in gamma-butyrobetaine (GBB) concentration in both plasma and testes extracts. However, the expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I in testes and testosterone concentration in plasma …