Metabolism of ethanol to acetaldehyde by rat uterine horn subcellular fractions

Animal Models of Alcoholic Liver Disease for Hepatoprotective Activity Evaluation

Background: The reported statistics suggest that alcoholic liver disease is on the rise. Furthermore, medications used to treat the disease have unpleasant effects, and this necessitates the need to continuously investigate hepatoprotective agents. This study investigates animal models of alcoholic liver disease used to evaluate hepatoprotective activity. Content: A good number of published articles evaluating hepatoprotective activity were summarized. The studies used three ethanol-induced liver injury models: the acute ethanol-induced liver injury model, the chronic ethanol-induced liver injury model, and Lieber– DeCarli model. Summary: Wistar rats were primarily used in the ethanol-induced liver injury model. High levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) and histopathological alterations were found in all animal models (acute ethanol-induced liver injury, chronic ethanol-induced liver injury, and Lieber–DeCarli models). Severe steatosis was shown in both chronic ethanol-induced liver injury and Lieber–DeCarli models. However, fibrosis was undetected in all models.

Electron microscopic examination of effects of bogma raki and walnut on cochlea: an experimental study

Illegal alcohol beverages known as bogma raki in our country are consumed widely in our region. The studies investigating the relationship between alcohol consumption and hearing ability report different results. In this study, we aimed to investigate the toxic effects of bogma raki that contains neurotoxic substances on cochlea by electron microscopy. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first in the literature. A total of 48 Wistar male albino rats (aged 12-16 weeks and weighing 200-240 g) were used in the study. The rats were divided into 4 groups with 12 animals in each group. The groups include control, bogma raki, walnut, and walnut + bogma raki groups. Bogma raki (30% v/v, 9.2 ml kg(-1) day(-1)) is added to drinking water of rats in bogma raki group (n = 12) for 4 weeks. Walnut group rats (n = 12) are fed with standard rat food and walnut without limitation (10 g kg(-1) day(-1)). Bogma raki + walnut group rats (n = 12) are fed with standard rat food and walnut and bogma raki is added to drinking water. The cochleas were dissected and removed en bloc and examined by electron microscopy. Perineuronal oedema around neurons of spiral ganglion and hairy cells of organ of Corti were present in the bogma raki group, walnut group and bogma raki + walnut group under electron microscopic examination. Comparing these three groups, there were no differences in the ultrastructural pathological changes. In the ultrastructural examination of the myelinated axons forming cochlear nerve, no ultrastructural pathology was detected in all the groups.

Acetaldehyde content and oxidative stress in the deleterious effects of alcohol drinking on rat uterine horn

After alcohol exposure through a standard Lieber and De Carli diet for 28 days, a severe atrophy in the rat uteirne horn was observed, accompanied by significant alterations in its epithelial cells. Microsomal pathway of acetaldehyde production was slightly increased. Hydroxyl radicals were detected in the cytosolic fraction, and this was attributed to participation of xanthine oxidoreductase. They were also observed in the microsomal fraction in the presence of NADPH generating system. No generation of 1-hydroxyethyl was evidenced. The t-butylhydroperoxide-induced chemiluminescence analysis of uterine horn homogenates revealed a significant increase in the chemiluminiscence emission due to ethanol exposure. In the animals repeatedly exposed to alcohol, sulfhydryl content from uterine horn proteins was decreased, but no significant changes were observed in the protein carbonyl content from the same samples. Minor but significant decreasing changes were observed in the GSH content accompanied by a tendency to decrease in the GSH/GSSG ratio. A highly significant finding was the diminished activity content of glutathione peroxidase. Results suggest that acetaldehyde accumulation plus the oxidative stress may play an additional effect to the alcohol-promoted hormonal changes in the uterus reported by others after chronic exposure to alcohol.