Alcohol exposure and undernutrition: effects on lipid metabolism and alcohol partitioning in rat brain regions in vitro.

The effects of maternal alcohol consumption and undernutrition on lipid metabolism and alcohol partitioning in brain cortical and stem slices of pups were studied under in vitro conditions. Alcohol administration along with a normal diet during gestation and lactation resulted in an increase in the synthesis of cholesterol in cortical and stem slices associated with decreased entry of alcohol. Phospholipid metabolism was not affected in the cortex, whereas the incorporation of [32P] was found to be altered in the brain stem, indicating regional differences with respect to alcohol effects. Undernutrition induced by feeding the mothers a low protein diet, on the other hand, decreased the incorporation of labelled precursors into lipids in cortex and stem. The changes in lipid metabolism observed in the high protein alcohol pups were not evident in the brain regions of undernourished pups exposed to alcohol and the partitioning of alcohol was not altered.