EFFECTS OF ETHANOL ON ENERGY-BALANCE OF RATS AND THE INAPPROPRIATENESS OF INTRAPERITONEAL INJECTION

Energy balance of female rats that were either injected daily with eth anol or received the alcohol by gavage was determined and the results compared with saline animals. Food intake, feces elimination, and body weight were recorded daily. After a 20-day period of treatment the an imals were sacrificed and the energy content of the carcasses and fece s was determined by bomb calorimetry. The results indicated that ethan ol-injected animals underwent an impairment in the energy balance, wit h losses in body weight and body energy. Also, there was a decrease in metabolizable energy intake. The results of a group of saline rats pa ir-fed to alcohol-injected rats showed that the impairment of the ener gy balance was not only a consequence of the decreased energy intake, because the ethanol-fed animals had an energy balance that was worse t han the one of the pair-fed rats, even though both had eaten the same amount of food Nevertheless, when alcohol was given by gavage, no alte ration in the energy balance parameters was detected. Macroscopic obse rvation of the abdominal cavity showed adherences in the gut of the al cohol-injected animals. It is concluded that the ethanol by itself doe s not alter the energy balance; however, depending on the route of adm inistration it could indirectly impair the energy balance. Copyright ( C) 1996 Elsevier Science Inc.