Effect of ethanol on electrolyte transport and electrogenesis in animal tissues

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Abstract
Ethanol 0.087 M (400 mg/100 ml) did not affect the initial loss of K+ from guinea‐pig brain cortex slices at the start of incubation, but significantly inhibited the subsequent reaccumulation of K+. Ethanol 0.098 M (450 mg/100 ml) also significantly inhibited the active reaccumulation of K+ by pre‐cooled rabbit kidney cortex slices.In vivo experiments with an electric eel indicated that ethanol in concentrations of 100 to 700 mg/100 ml (22 to 152 mM) significantly diminished the frequency of spontaneous low‐voltage electrogenesis.These findings, together with others in the literature, suggest that ethanol inhibits the active transport of cations by many types of cell, at concentrations relevant to non‐lethal intoxication.