Comparative Effectiveness of Fructose, Dextrose, Pyruvic Acid and Insulin in Accelerating the Disappearance of Ethanol from Dogs

Abstract

Conflicting reports prompted a reinvestigation of the effect of insulin and carbohydrate substances on stage I of the metabolism of ethanol. Variation was minimized by determining the mean disappearance rate of ethanol from the blood, employing the same 7 dogs for all tests. The dose of ethanol was 1 gm/kg given intravenously over a 10 minute period. Fructose, dextrose, and dextrose following insulin was infused for 6 hours at a rate of 1 g/kg/hour and pyruvate at 0.33 g. The dose of insulin was 1 unit/kg given by rapid intravenous injection immediately after the alcohol. The initial and final mean control rates for the disappearance of the ethanol were 14.1 [plus or minus] 1.17 and 16.3 [plus or minus] 2.73 mg% per hour respectively. During treatment the mean rates were: fructose, 22.8 [plus or minus] 2.02; dextrose, 16.8 [plus or minus] 2.00; insulin, 19.7 [plus or minus] 2.43; insulin plus dextrose, 17.4 [plus or minus] 3.63; pyruvate 18.0 [plus or minus] 3.47; and after orally administered fructose the rate of disappearance was 21.0 [plus or minus] 2.30 mg. These data were subjected to rigorous statistical analysis, using the highest (final) control rate for comparison. It was concluded that fructose administration produced a significant increase in the mean disappearance rate for ethanol, and that insulin resulted in an equivocal increase, but that neither pyruvate nor dextrose plus insulin, increased the rate.