The Utilization of Ethanol

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Abstract
Fatty livers frequently develop subsequent to chronic consumption of ethanol. To evaluate the possible role of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), the ratelimiting enzyme of ethanol metabolism, in the production of fatty infiltration, weaning rats were used. The animals were fed an adequate purified diet until the end of the experiment. A group of rats was given 20% ethanol as the only drinking fluid, and another group was given water and served as a control. Periodically some of the animals were killed and the alcohol dehydrogenase levels and total hepatic lipids determined. Liver tissue sections were made simultaneously for microscopic study. The results indicated that as the level of ADH increased concomitant to alcohol treatment the amount of total hepatic lipids also increased. Likewise, when ADH activity decreased, the quantity of total lipids decreased. Similarly, the degree of liver change measured in terms of cytoplasmic vacuolization followed a pattern similar to that of the ADH level. When alcohol was withdrawn the liver cells tended to revert to near normal. These observations were interpreted to mean that a relationship between ADH level and hepatic lipid synthesis may exist and that ADH may, to a certain extent, be linked to the process of fatty infiltration usually observed in the alcoholic.