What is "etomoxir"

n. (context medicine English) A carnitine palmitoyltransferase inhibitor used to protects the heart from fatty acid-induced ischemic injury

Etomoxir, or 2[6(4-chlorophenoxy)hexyl]oxirane-2-carboxylate, is an irreversible inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1) on the outer face of the inner mitochondrial membrane. This prevents the formation of acyl carnitines, a step that is necessary for the transport of fatty acyl chains from the cytosol into the intermembrane space of the mitochondria. This step is essential to the production of ATP from fatty acid oxidation. Etomoxir has also been identified as a direct agonist of PPARα.

A double-blind crossover study in human adult males showed that treatment with etomoxir enhanced feelings of hunger and increased meal portion size by 22%.

Etomoxir has been reported to decrease the incorporation of palmitic acid and oleic acid into cardiolipin, although it does not affect the activities of cardiolipin biosynthesis and remodeling.