title: Ethanol intake during lactation. I. Effects On dams' metabolism and pups' body weight gain.
abstract: Wistar lactating rats (8 pups per dam) had free access to either tap water (control group, C) or one of three concentrations of ethanol (E) in the drinking water: 5% (E5), 10% (E10), and 20% (E20). All animals received normal rat chow ad libitum and were killed on day 12 of lactation. Intake of both 10% and 20% ethanol solutions decreased food intake, dams' body weight, and pups' body weight gain as compared with findings in the C group. The relative weights (g/100g b.w.) of the mammary glands (MG) and of the parametrial white adipose tissue depot were decreased only in E20 as compared with findings in the C group. Protein and lipid content of these tissues were not altered in any of the ethanol groups. In comparison with the C group, the lipogenesis rate was increased in the MG (135. 6%) and liver (120.2%) in E5 and the MG (58.1%) and parametrial white adipose tissue depot (147.0%) in E20. No modifications in lipogenesis rate were noted in E10. The malic enzyme activity was decreased in the MG in E10 (25.3%) and E20 (26.4%) and in the liver in E20 (45.7%). In E5, however, it was increased in the liver (23. 9%). The activity of ATP-citrate lyase in the liver was decreased in E20 (56.7%), while it was increased by 37.5% in E5 and 34.2% in E10. Blood glucose concentration of dams was not affected by ethanol ingestion. However, plasma triacylglycerol concentration was higher in E10 (17.9%) and E20 (13.3%) than in the C group, and plasma protein was lower in E20 (15.7%) than in C. We concluded that alcohol intake during lactation increased the MG lipogenesis rate; although at the highest dose, this metabolic alteration was not enough to allow normal pups' growth. However, the low dose of ethanol (5%), despite having altered dams' metabolism, did not affect pups' body weight gain.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-EPM, SP 04023-060, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Oyama
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Couto
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Couto
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Dâmaso
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Oller do Nascimento
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol