Effect of ethanol intake on human erythrocyte membrane fluidity and lipid composition.

Erythrocyte membrane fluidity was evaluated in chronic alcoholic patients without any liver alteration, assuming different daily ethanol amounts, and in normal subjects and related to ghost fatty acid and total lipid composition obtained by high resolution gas chromatography. Erythrocyte membrane fluidity was significantly increased in a dose dependent manner in chronic alcoholic patients respect to normal subjects. This real fluidizing effect of ethanol "in vivo" was attributed mainly to a significant increase in the polyunsaturated fatty acids amount in patient ghosts in comparison with control subjects. On the other hand the cholesterol/phospholipid ratio was not significantly affected by chronic ethanol assumption.