[Pharmacologic influencing of fetal phospholipide synthesis. Part II: Carnitin - a new way of dyspnea syndrome prophylaxis? (author's transl)].

Carnitine is a body-owned Betaine which is wide-spread in living nature in the form of a physiologic metabolit. On account of its central metabolic function, Carnitine has various effects in the intermediary metabolism. Toxicity of Carnitine is very low. DL-Carnitine hydrochloride (30 mg/kg body weight) was injected into 25 gravid Wistar rats and 24 gravid rabbits, 4 days before the Cesarean section. Compared to the group of controls, the group treated with Bromhexine metabolit VIII, as well as to the group treated with Betamethason, significantly higher values with regard to the content of total phospholipids, lecithine and palmitic acid could be found in the fetal rat lungs. Effects of Carnitine on the phospholipid metabolism are discussed.