BACKGROUND: The investigators hypothesized that degenerative changes accumulate in epithelial cells in the aging rat tongue and that carnitine administration is effective at reversing these alterations.MATERIAL AND METHODS: To gain insights into the effects of carnitine on epithelial cells of the tongue, the investigators used 15 Wistar rats [3 experimental groups: 5- (A), 12- (B) and 18- (C) month old rats] with 4 rats per group and 1 control group with 1 rat per age group). L-carnitine was administered intraperitoneally to animals of the experimental group for 35 days. Samples of the tongue were processed for electron microscopy.RESULTS: Degeneration of epithelial cells of the rat tongue was shown to begin early in life (5 months) and alterations were shown to accumulate while aging. L-carnitine administration eliminated degenerative changes when administered in the first age group A, while in the older rats the regeneration was only partial for the epithelium (groups B and C).CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that profound ultrastructural alterations commence in the degenerating rat tongue and that L-carnitine administration results into partial regeneration of epithelial cells.