The utilization of ethanol by the isolated perfused rat liver

Abstract

A series of experiments has shown that the mechanisms by which the metabolism of ethanol occurs are strongly influenced by the partial pressures of the oxygen present in the aerating medium. For the most frequently used gas mixture, 95% O2 + 5% CO2, the ethanol consumption was abnormally large, and proportional to the concentration of ethanol in the perfusate. However, when the system was aerated with 18% O2 + 5% CO2 + 77% N2 the consumption of ethanol was similar to that found in the intact rat. The perfusate concentration of glucose, acetone, and acetic, pyruvic, and lactic acids was measured in all experiments. When ethanol was consumed at these two different rates, increases in the lactic: pyruvic ratio and acetate levels of the perfusate were noted in both types of experiments. However, the utilization of glucose by isolated perfused liver was inhibited, and acetone levels increased markedly, when ethanol was consumed at abnormally rapid rates, although no effect was noted in the perfusate levels of these metabolites when ethanol was consumed at normal rates.