Effect of chronic alcohol consumption on myocardium catecholamine concentration in rats

Abstract

In this study, the catecholamine levels of the myocardium in both well-nourished and malnourished alcohol-fed rats were examined. Alcohol has been administered to rats for 16 weeks. Rats fed a diet containing alcohol corresponding to 40% of total caloric intake and inadequate amounts of calories and nutrients showed increased levels of noradrenaline in the heart whereas the controls did not (alcohol-fed rats, 0.888 ± 0.050 μg/g wet tissue weight; controls, 0.668 ± 0.025 μg/g). In addition an increase in heart ratio (gram heart weight/kilogram body weight) could be also observed (alcohol-fed rats, 3.17 ± 0.10; controls, 2.65 ± 0.05). However, between well-nourished rats fed alcohol as 35% of the caloric intake and pair-fed controls there were no differences in catecholamine concentration (alcohol-fed rats, 0.729 ± 0.068 μg/g; pair-fed controls, 0.738 ± 0.069) and heart ratio (alcohol-fed rats, 2.84 ± 0.15; pair-fed controls, 2.75 ± 0.09). From these results, it is concluded that chronic consumption of alcohol induces an increase in myocardium noradrenaline concentration and heart hypertrophy only when it is associated with malnutrition, i.e., alcohol by itself does not alter either of these parameters. Moreover, it can be speculated that continued exposure to high levels of catecholamine may play a role in the development of myocardial hypertrophy.