R. Prinzinger et Ga. Hakimi, ALCOHOL RESORPTION AND ALCOHOL DEGRADATIO N IN THE EUROPEAN STARLING STURNUS-VULGARIS, Journal fur Ornithologie, 137(3), 1996, pp. 319-327
All tested blood parameters are within the expected range for birds (T
ab. 1). Starlings show a high rate of alcohol resorption. Experimental
ly ingested (per os) doses of 1, 2 and 3 g/kg ethanol(10 %-solution) w
ere completely absorbed from the digestive tract within at least 30 mi
n. Extraintestinal metabolic alcohol degradation is also very fast. Wi
thin 130 min even 3 g/kg ethanol were completely metabolised (blood al
cohol values did not exceed 145 mg/l; Tab. 2, Fig. a). Alcoholdehydrog
enase (ADH) activity is very high (ca. 14-fold of man) and shows a cle
ar and fast adaptive plasticity in correlation to ingested alcohol con
centration (Fig. b). There seems to be a clear pre-adaptation in ADH-a
ctivity in birds. We found low values in seed-earing birds and high va
lues in fruiteaters. Under field conditions normal alcohol concentrati
on as found in fermentated fruits and berries are so low, that - in co
nnection with high ADH-activity - birds obviously have no problems to
cope with alcohol.