Ethanol lowers heart carnitine in the methionine and choline deficient rat.
In agreement with the findings of others, heart carnitine levels of male, weanling Sprague-Dawley rats fed nutritionally adequate liquid diets with 35% of calories as ethanol for 3 weeks were not different from control or pair-fed rats (Experiment 1). When ethanol was given as 30% of energy in combination with a diet deficient in methionine and choline, and the feeding period was extended to 5 weeks, heart carnitine levels were significantly affected (Experiment 2). Carnitine levels in whole heart homogenates of the methionine and choline deficient chronic ethanol-fed group were 2.14 +/- 0.74 mumoles per g dry wt. significantly lower (p less than 0.05) than deficient controls, 3.08 +/- 0.85 mumoles per g dry wt. We conclude that a methionine and choline deficient diet exacerbates the effects of alcohol on methyl-group metabolism so as to produce decrements in heart carnitine not seen when alcohol is given with an adequate diet.
Dodd
H
H
Department of Home Economics, University of Texas at Austin 78712.
Shorey-Kutschke
R L
RL
D000437:Alcoholism / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002331:Carnitine / Q000032:analysis*; D002796:Choline Deficiency / Q000378:metabolism*; D004032:Diet; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008715:Methionine / Q000172:deficiency*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D000431:Ethanol; D008715:Methionine; D002331:Carnitine