We investigated the effect of alcohol (3 g/kg body weight intragastrically)
on lead-induced (50 mg/kg body weight intragastrically) oxidative stress i
n adult rat brain. Ethanol was found to potentiate the accumulation of lead
in the rat brain by 100%. Lead and ethanol in combination also enhanced li
pid peroxidation, a deteriorative process of biomembranes, and markedly dec
reased the antioxidant capacity of neuronal cells in terms of reduced activ
ities of antioxidant enzymes i.e., superoxide dismutase, catalase and gluta
thione peroxidase. Further, the activity of glutathione reductase was also
significantly decreased in lead and ethanol co-exposed animals as compared
to only lead-treated animals, which had altered glutathione status. The res
ults of the present study show that ethanol makes the adult rat brain more
susceptible to the neurotoxic effects of lead by accentuating the oxidative
stress induced by lead.