CHRONIC ETHANOL INTAKE INDUCES OXIDATIVE ALTERATIONS IN RAT TESTIS

Although it is well known that chronic ethanol abuse produces sexual d ysfunction and impaired spermatogenesis, the mechanisms of ethanol-ind uced testicular alterations are not fully explained, Therefore, the ai m of this study was to investigate the mechanisms of testicular oxidat ive damage in rats given drinking water containing 3% ethanol for 8 we eks, Control rats were pair-fed with saccharose, The mean daily ethano l intake was 4.05 g kg(-1), corresponding to the consumption of 41 of wine (10% alcohol) or 0.71 of whiskey (40% alcohol) by a man of 70 kg body wt, Exposure to ethanol caused a significant depletion in the tes ticular levels of glutathione (GSH), protein containing sulfhydryl gro ups, tocopherol and ascorbic acid, and an increase in the concentratio ns of malondialdehyde (index of lipid peroxidation) and carbonyl prote ins (index of protein oxidation). Other effects were decreases in the concentration of adenosine 5'-triphosphate and in the activity of glut athione peroxidase, and an increase in the activity of alcohol dehydro genase. In summary, this study shows that in the rat, daily consumptio n of ethanol in the drinking water increases lipid and protein oxidati on, In addition to impaired antioxidant defence, an imbalance in energ y production may also play a role in the toxic reaction to alcohol, (C ) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons.