Acute Ethanol Toxicity Research Articles

No chemical evidence of hepatic lipid peroxidation in acute ethanol toxicity

The appearance of abnormal diene conjugation absorption in rat liver microsomal lipids peroxidized in vitro, and following acute carbon tetrachloride poisoning in vivo, as reported earlier from this laboratory, was confirmed. If peroxidative decomposition of liver lipids is also involved in acute ethanol hepatitis, then the characteristic diene conjugation absorption should be present in liver lipids after ethanol administration. With this method, we were unable to detect any evidence of lipid peroxidation in any subcellular fraction from 1 to 24 hours after ethanol feeding. Peroxidation of lipids also leads to the appearance of lipid peroxides. By use of a semimicro iodimetric procedure, we could readily detect small amounts of lipid peroxides in peroxidized oils and in rat liver microsomes peroxidized in vitro. However, we could not detect any peroxides in rat liver lipids from 1 to 18 hours after ethanol feeding. These negative findings greatly complicate the current situation with regard to the molecular pathobiology of acute ethanol hepatitis.