ENERGY RESTRICTION AND CHRONIC ALCOHOLEMIA PROLONG THE DELAY IN GASTRIC-EMPTYING IN RATS

The possibility that chronic alcoholemia plays a role in the low energ y intake by prolonging gastric emptying (GE) in alcoholic rats was inv estigated. A noninvasive Tc 99m-scintigraphy method was used to obtain half maximal (T1/2) GE times in conscious rats fed an alcohol or an i soenergetic control diet. One group of rats had free access to a liqui d diet containing 36% of energy from alcohol for 4 weeks. The second a nd third groups were the isoenergetic and free-access controls respect ively. The mean T1/2 (min) in these groups were 59.9, 22.3 and 29.6 in the non-fasted, and 24.3, 23.0 and 6.8 in the overnight fasted state respectively. Alcoholic rats had a high blood alcohol concentration (B AG) of 33.4 m mole/L which dropped to 1 m mole/L in the fasted state. Alcoholic rats were switched to an isoenergetic diet with 26% of energ y from alcohol and those in the second group were pair-fed a control d iet for an additional 4 weeks. Rats fed the 26% alcohol diet ingested daily an amount of alcohol similar to that by rats fed the 36% alcohol diet but exhibited a very low BAC (5.0 m mole/L). They were not malno urished, unlike those fed the 36% alcohol diet. The mean T1/2 in the 2 6% alcohol and isoenergetic control groups were 27.9 and 23.4 in the f ed, and 7.5 and 6.3 in the fasted state respectively. These results sh ow that rather than alcohol consumption per se, chronic alcoholemia an d energy restriction prolong the delay in GE. They also show the rever sible nature of the GE profile from abnormal delay to normal GE despit e a continuous consumption of high amounts of alcohol sufficient to ca use high BAC in rats receiving an increment in energy intake. Chronic alcoholemia has the potential to restrict energy intake by abnormally prolonging GE and therefore to induce malnutrition.