Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Construction of Vapor Chambers Used to Expose Mice to Alcohol During the Equivalent of all Three Trimesters of Human Development
Published on: July 13, 2014
Psychotropic drug metabolism in fetal alcohol syndrome
Abstract:
Simultaneous intake of ethanol with chlorpromazine (thorazine), an antipsychotic drug, leads to about 60% decrease in the chlorpromazine removal from the rat blood. Studies with liver homogenates showed that ethanol inhibits the metabolism of this drug by about 50%. The inhibitory effect of ethanol on the metabolism of chlorpromazine can be largely abolished by pyrazole (2 mM) preincubation. Prolonged maternal ethanol consumption during pregnancy and lactation leads to a decrease in chlorpromazine metabolism in the fetal (30%), neonatal (46%) and maternal livers. Prolonged maternal ethanol intake also leads to an increase in the (UDPG)/(UDPGA) ratio in the suckling neonatal liver and the maternal liver. Simultaneous acute administration of ethanol (2g/kg) with psychotropic drugs such as chlordiazepoxide (librium), diazepam (valium), chlorpromazine (thorazine) or meprobamate (equanil) to pregnant or non-pregnant rats led to a decrease in the blood alcohol clearance rates. In another group of nonpsychotropic drugs tested, tolbutamide (orinase) produced the most pronounced (47%) decrease in blood alcohol clearance rates. This decrease was found to be accompanied by the inhibition of hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Drug Metabolism: Phase II Reactions
CNS Depressants: Alcohol and Nicotine
Phase I Reactions: Oxidation of Aliphatic and Aromatic Carbon-Containing Systems
Oxidation reactions are fundamental in aromatic carbon-containing systems. An example is the hydroxylation of phenobarbital, a process that transforms it into...
Nonlinear Pharmacokinetics: Dependence of Elimination Half-Life and Dose Clearance
A study on guinea pigs examined the...
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism

