The chronic effect of ethanol on leucine absorption by the whole rat i
ntestine (between duodenum and rectum) was studied using an in vivo mu
ltiple-pass perfusion technique. Leucine concentrations in the perfusi
on medium were 5, 10 and 25 mM respectively in successive passes. Etha
nol was administered in drinking water during a one month induction pe
riod and then for a four week period of ad libitum ingestion of 30% et
hanol solution. The results were compared with ad libitum-fed control
rats. The total calorie consumption due to the chow diet plus ethanol
increased in the rats which had ingested ethanol when compared with th
at of the controls. The daily protein intake in ethanol-fed rats was l
ess than that of the controls. No significant differences in morphomet
ric tissue parameters were found between the two experimental groups.
Chronic ethanol ingestion provoked a slight (but not significant) decr
ease in net leucine absorption at 5 mM leucine concentration. In contr
ast, minor increases in the absorption values were found at 10 and 25
mM leucine concentrations. These findings suggest that the diminished
active mechanisms of leucine absorption provoked by ethanol ingestion
are compensated for by the enhanced diffusive processes, the passage o
f the nutrients through the whole intestine, and that the low protein
consumption of ethanol-fed rats in ad libitum conditions isn't enough
to provoke significant decreases in leucine absorption by the whole in
testine.