3 wk prepartum | 1 wk postpartum | 5 wk postpartum | 14 wk postpartum | P-value | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liver tissue | |||||
free carnitine, nmol/g wet weight | 37.4b ± 4.53 | 55.6a ± 4.09 | 26.0c ± 1.76 | 18.2c ± 1.26 | < 0.001 |
Plasma | |||||
free carnitine, μmol/L | 3.82a ± 0.25 | 1.40c ± 0.10 | 2.18b ± 0.20 | 2.35b ± 0.17 | < 0.001 |
carnitine esters*, μmol/L | 2.07b ± 0.10 | 2.54a ± 0.12 | 2.45ab ± 0.18 | 1.64c ± 0.11 | < 0.001 |
total carnitine†, μmol/L | 5.89a ± 0.33 | 3.94b ± 0.17 | 4.64b ± 0.32 | 3.99b ± 0.26 | < 0.001 |
Milk | |||||
free carnitine, μmol/L | - | 84.5a ± 5.92 | 50.3b ± 4.34 | 60.2b ± 2.65 | < 0.001 |
carnitine esters*, μmol/L | - | 131.1a ± 12.1 | 65.9b ± 6.23 | 41.3c ± 2.60 | < 0.001 |
total carnitine†, μmol/L | - | 215.5a ± 16.6 | 116.2b ± 7.92 | 101.5b ± 3.93 | < 0.001 |