Effect of chronic ethanol administration on thiamin metabolism in the rat

The effect of chronic alcohol administration on the absorption, excretion and metabolism of thiamin in the rat has been examined. In ethanol-fed rats receiving a marginal daily intake of thiamin (10 microgram/day) by stomach tube or by intraperitoneal injection, less of the vitamin and its metabolites were excreted in the urine as compared to controls administered the same diet except that sucrose replaced the energy represented by ethanol. More of the oral dose of thiamin was excreted in the feces of the ethanol-fed as compared to control rats. These data support previous reports of decreased adsorption of thiamin from the gut in animals exposed to ethanol. The studies in which the thiamin was administered by intraperitoneal injection also indicate an effect of ethanol on thiamin excretion in the urine which appears not to be related to absorption of the vitamin from the gut. An examination reveals no difference in the level of thiamin and its metabolites in the tissues of ethanol-fed as compared to control rats receiving thiamin by stomach tube. Thus, the decreased absorption of thiamin from the gut in the ethanol-fed rats seems to be balanced by a decreased excretion in the urine leading to a comparable accumulation of the vitamin in the tissues as controls.