Effect of long-term administration of different alcoholic beverages to rats on liver lipid metabolism and bile acid conjugation.

Abstract

The effect of various alcoholic beverages (ethanol, brandy, whisky, gin, and red wine) on hepatic triglyceride, phospholipid and cholesterol concentration, incorporation rate of glycerol into hepatic triglycerides and phospholipids and bile acid conjugation rate was studied in rats fed alcohol as 50% of the caloric intake for 8–9 months. Two groups of rats served as controls: one fed glucose instead of alcohol and another fed a standard laboratory diet. A special series of rats fed the same amount of ethanol for 10 days was also investigated. In the long-term study no unambiguous changes of hepatic lipid concentration, incorporation rate of glycerol into hepatic lipids, and bile acid conjugation rate were found in the alcohol-fed rats as compared with the glucose-fed rats. In the 10-day study the ethanol rats showed a 60% increase of hepatic triglyceride concentration and of the incorporation rate of glycerol into hepatic triglycerides as well as a 30% increase of the rate of bile acid conjugation compared with glucose fed controls. The results suggest that other pathways for ethanol metabolization than the NADH2-producing alcohol dehydrogenase system become of increased importance with prolonged ethanol administration. The various alcoholic beverages showed almost no differences in their effects on lipid metabolism or bile acid conjugation rate.