THE EFFECT OF REPEATED ALCOHOLIC INTOXICATION ON ADRENAL ASCORBIC ACID AND CHOLESTEROL IN THE RAT

Abstract

Groups of adult male and female albino rats received daily gavage of 1.25 ml of water or of 20% ethanol per 100 g body weight for a period of 1 month, and were killed either 1.5 hours or 24 hours after the last dose. Such daily treatment with either water or alcohol, ending 24 hours before death, did not result in any significant change from control values in the relative weight of the adrenal glands, or their ascorbic acid and cholesterol contents. No changes in these values were found in animals which received an additional dose of water or alcohol 1.5 hours before death. The female rats showed lower values for adrenal ascorbic acid content than the males in corresponding groups, but did not differ from the males with respect to the effects of the various treatments. A similar experiment with male rats only, carried on for 2 months, also showed no significant differences among any of the treatment groups.Measurements of the degree of intoxication produced by single doses of ethanol were carried out by means of the inclined-plane test. Intraperitoneal injection of 2 g/kg produced much more rapid and marked intoxication than did gavage with either 2 or 4 g/kg.It was concluded that daily gavage for 1-2 months with ethanol in a moderately intoxicating dose (2 g/kg) does not constitute a stimulus to adrenal cortical activity or result in exhaustion atrophy of the adrenal cortex, and that adrenal cortical stimulation is not an invariable accompaniment of acute or chronic alcoholic intoxication.