The interaction of endurance running and ethanol on skeletal muscle mitochondria

This study was designed to measure the interaction of 8 weeks of endurance running and chronic ethanol consumption upon skeletal muscle mitochondria. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to 1 of 4 groups; ethanol diet sedentary (SED-E), ethanol diet trained (RUN-E), control diet sedentary (SED-E), and control diet trained (RUN-C). The ethanol groups, SED-E and RUN-E, consumed 35% of their calories as ethanol in a liquid diet. The trained groups, RUN-C and RUN-E, ran 5 days/wk for 8 weeks and were running 30 m/min for 90 min/day by the last week. The SED-E group had significantly lower body weights and gastrocnemius-plantaris weights than did the other 3 groups. The left ventricular heart weights showed no treatment effects. Mitochondrial respirations and cytochrome content were significantly depressed in the SED-E group and significantly elevated in the RUN-C and RUN-E groups. Two conclusions can be drawn from these data; (1) the ethanol diet caused a depression in mitochrondrial function of skeletal muscle, in weight gain, and in gastrocnemius-plantaris muscle mass amd (2) an endurance running program offset the deleterious effects of ethanol in all of these areas.