Effect of almond and anis oils on mouse liver alcohol dehydrogenase, aldehyde dehydrogenase and heart lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes.

The effects of short-term intraperitoneal injection of diluted almond or anis oil on heart lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes, liver alcohol dehydrogenase and subcellular aldehyde dehydrogenase were studied in the female mouse. Hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase was induced from control by administration of almond oil 3.2 g/kg/d for 7 days, or anis oil 1.6 g/kg/d for 7 days. Treatment with almond but not anis oil inhibited both cytoplasmic and mitochondrial liver aldehyde dehydrogenase. The mitochondrial isoenzyme with an apparently low Km was also inhibited by the almond oil trial. No significant changes occurred in heart lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes by the treatments used. The enzymatic inhibition kinetics were found to be non-competitive. The apparent Km for almond-treated mouse aldehyde dehydrogenase was greater than the controls. This indicates lower substrate affinity for almond oil than for acetaldehyde. The results suggest adverse hepatic metabolic interaction between almond oil and alcohol.