Nerve-mediated effect of ethanol on sodium and fluid transport in the jejunum of the rat.

The hypothesis tested in this study is whether a potential harmful substance such as ethanol causes secretion in the small intestine and, if so, whether the secretion is mediated via intestinal nerve reflexes or a direct effect on the epithelium. The jejunum of anaesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats was perfused in vivo with a modified Krebs-Henseleit solution. Three per cent ethanol had no significant effect, whereas 8% ethanol in the perfusate elicited a net secretion of fluid and sodium in the intestine. This secretion was reversed by ganglionic blockade with hexamethonium (10 mg/kg intravenously). The ethanol absorption from the perfusate, on the other hand, was not affected by the ganglionic blockade. We concluded that ethanol dose-dependently caused a nerve-mediated secretion of sodium and fluid in the rat small intestine. Ethanol was probably absorbed by diffusion.