Abstract
Evidence is presented which suggests that the chronic intake of ethanol does not produce a hypermetabolic state in the liver. Isolated liver cells were prepared from male rats maintained on a nutritionally adequate diet in which ethanol isocalorically replaced carbohydrate at a level of 36 call% for four weeks. The rates of endogenous oxygen uptake measured were similar in liver preparations from these three groups. A period of 18 hours starvation produced an increase in oxygen uptake in liver cell preparations from ethanol-fed rats and their pair-fed controls and a decrease in the rats maintained on Purina chow. The lipid content of these preparations varied and appeard to account for the differences noted in oxygen uptake in these liver cell preparations. Thus, changes in substrate availability rather than an enhanced capacity of the liver cell to handle reducing equivalents appears to explain the different rates of oxygen uptake noted in ethanol-fed rats by other investigators.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
