Beck F, Huxham IM, Gulamhusein AP. Growth of rat embryos in the serum of alcohol drinkers.
CIBA FOUNDATION SYMPOSIUM 2008;
105:218-33. [PMID:
6375995 DOI:
10.1002/9780470720868.ch13]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Seven healthy male volunteers who had fasted overnight consumed Scotch whisky (70-85 g absolute alcohol) in a period of 15 minutes after venesection at 9.30 a.m. An hour later a further quantity of blood was collected. Rat embryos (9.5 days of gestation) grown for four hours in 'post-drink' serum (115 mg alcohol/100 ml serum) followed by 44 hours in 'pre-drink' serum were compared to controls cultured in normal human serum for 48 hours. All cultures contained 90% human serum and 10% rat serum. The embryos were examined morphologically and their protein content was measured to assess in vitro growth and differentiation. The results demonstrated the teratogenic and growth-retarding effects of alcohol ingestion. Addition of ethanol (120 mg/100 ml) to the culture medium produced similar results. Culture of 9.5-day rat embryos for 24 hours in 'post-drink' serum (115 mg/100 ml alcohol) containing 10 or 20 micrograms acetaldehyde/ml or in pre-drink serum containing similar amounts of acetaldehyde showed a toxic effect of acetaldehyde only at concentrations of 20 micrograms/ml, in the absence of alcohol.
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