Augmentation of ethanol absorption by mono- and disaccharides

Assessment of the influence of nutritional substrates on the disposition of ingested ethanol from the blood requires, first, an understanding of the influence that these may exert upon ethanol absorption from the gastrointestinal tract. In this report, the effects of various carbohydrates on the intestinal absorption of ethanol were studied. When carbohydrates (50 mM) were perfused simultaneously with ethanol (50 mM) in vivo in the rat small bowel, ethanol absorption increased up to 34% (P less than 0.005) above controls receiving ethanol alone. Of the monosaccharides, fructose, 3-O-methylglucose, glucose, or galactose added to an ethanol perfusate, only glucose or galactose increased ethanol absorption over control animals receiving ethanol alone. Of the disaccharides tested, sucrose and maltose, but not lactose, enhanced ethanol absorption. Addition of varying concentrations of maltose to an ethanol perfusate augmented ethanol absorption in a direct proportion to the quantity of glucose absorbed, rather than to the quantity of maltose hydrolyzed. Augmentation of ethanol absorption by carbohydrates appears to be dependent upon sugar-active transport. Ethanol, dissolved in intraluminal water, may cross the mucosa in water absorbed during sugar-active transport. This quantity of ethanol is absorbed in addition to that which normally crosses the mucosa by diffusion down its concentration gradient.