Depletion of liver and esophageal epithelium vitamin A after chronic moderate ethanol consumption in rats: inverse relation to zinc nutriture.

This study was designed to determine whether chronic moderate ethanol ingestion alters the levels of vitamin A of liver and esophageal epithelium and if this is dependent on zinc nutriture. Forty male Sprague-Dawley 4-week-old rats were divided into five groups: zinc-deficient (0.9 ppm), ethanol-fed; zinc-deficient; zinc-adequate (25 ppm); zinc-adequate (25 ppm), ethanol-fed; and zinc-supplemented (50 ppm), ethanol-fed. All rats received liquid Lieber-DeCarli diet containing 4,000 IU per liter of vitamin A for 5 weeks. Zinc-deficient, ethanol-fed rats and zinc-adequate, ethanol-fed rats and zinc-supplemented, ethanol-fed rats received 15.5% of the caloric intake as ethanol while zinc-deficient and zinc-adequate rats received isocaloric amounts of maltose dextrin. All groups were pair-fed to zinc-deficient, ethanol-fed rats. In addition, a group of eight rats designated as weight-restricted controls were fed a diet similar to the one given to zinc-adequate rats but in the amount to obtain a final weight as in the zinc-deficient group. After 35 days, the liver histology was normal in all rats, and no fat accumulation was noted. Hepatic vitamin A concentration was significantly decreased in zinc-adequate, ethanol-fed rats (41 +/- 10 micrograms per gm) and further in zinc-supplemented, ethanol-fed rats (12 +/- 5 micrograms per gm) as compared to controls (137 +/- 49). A highly significant negative correlation between serum zinc and liver vitamin A was found in ethanol-fed animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)