Octanoylcarnitine

Octanoylcarnitine (C8 acylcarnitine) is a medium-chain acylcarnitine formed when fatty-acid-derived acyl groups are shuttled into mitochondria for β-oxidation, and its abundance rises as fat oxidation is mobilised to fuel sustained activity. Salivary octanoylcarnitine therefore indexes the engagement of mitochondrial fatty-acid oxidation during exercise. Lehmann et al. (2010) showed that medium-chain acylcarnitines dominate the exercise metabolite signature and support lipid oxidation.