Rate of Metabolism of Radioactive Ethanol in Cold Environment

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Abstract
Male rats of the Sprague-Dawley strain weighing 190 to 210g. (20 rats) or 100 g. (60 rats) were divided into 2 groups; 1 group was kept at 2 C, the other (control) group at room temperature (20 C) for 5 days. Each animal was given by intra-perltoneal injection 1 ml. of a solution of labeled C14 alcohol diluted with a 20% alcohol solution, equivalent to 1 ml. or 2 ml. of alcohol per kg. of body weight. Expired carbon dioxide was collected and radio-activity measured at intervals following injection. At each time interval 3 rats (weighing 100 g.) from each group were removed and alcohol concentrations in bloods, urines, abdominal washings and alcohol homogenates were determined and radioactivity was measured. The cold-exposed rats exhaled more C14 during the first 2 hr. than the control rats. At subsequent collection periods this trend was reversed. The differences were significant at 1, 2, 4 and 24 hr. This indicates a difference in the rate of alcohol metabolism especially pronounced during the first 2 hr. Cold-exposed rats converted more alcohol into CO2 during the first hr. than did the control rats during the first 3 hr.; this difference became more pronounced at subsequent collection periods. The cold-exposed rats exhaled less C14O2, in pro-portion to the total quantity of expired CO2, at all times, suggesting that the rate of alcohol metabolism in cold-exposed rats was depressed in relation to the over-all increased metabolic activity.