Effect of dietary fat upon ethanol metabolism in rats

The effect of dietary fat upon ethanol metabolism was studied in rats. Wistar strain male rats were divided into four groups according to diet, namely alcohol-high fat, alcohol-low fat, control-high fat, and control-low fat. After 4 weeks of feeding, blood ethanol levels following an intraperitoneal injection of 0.2 g ethanol/100 g of body weight were measured. The disappearance rate of blood ethanol was faster and the metabolic rate of ethanol was significantly greater in the alcohol-high fat group compared to the alcohol-low fat or non-alcoholic groups. Microsomal enzymes, such as the microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system, aniline hydroxylase, and glucose-6-phosphatase, were significantly higher in the alcohol-high fat group than in the alcohol-low fat or non-alcoholic groups. The ethanol uptake rate of the isolated perfused liver was increased significantly in the alcoholic groups. In the alcoholic rats, the high fat group showed significantly higher uptake than the low fat group. Although the ethanol uptake rate after 4-methylpyrazole treatment was not significantly different among the four groups, its fraction of the total ethanol uptake was increased significantly in the alcohol-high fat group. These results suggest that high fat diets accelerate ethanol metabolism through the microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system.