Effect of chronic ethanol ingestion on biochemical circadian rhythms in Wistar rats

Chronic ingestion of ethanol for 60 days was known to alter the characteris tics of biochemical circadian rhythms in Wistar rats. Peak times of glucose , potassium and lactic acid rhythms were delayed by 18 h, 3 h, and 3 h resp ectively, whereas peak times of cholesterol and malondialdehyde rhythms wer e advanced by 3 h and 9 h respectively during ethanol treatment. Significan t changes in range (p < 0.001 expect in calcium) and 24 h mean (p < 0.001) of all the biochemical circadian rhythms studied were observed during ethan ol treatment. The alterations in the characteristics of these biochemical c ircadian rhythms could be principally due to the alterations on the hepatic cellular architecture; other plausible underlying reasons are also discuss ed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.