Suppression of an ethanol withdrawal syndrome in rats by 3-hydroxybutyrate.

An ethanol withdrawal syndrome was elicited by withholding ethanol from physically dependent, male Sprague-Dawley rats. Ethanol dependence had been induced by intragastric administration of ethanol at a dosage of 9 to 15 grams per kilogram per day over a four-day period. Oral administration of 3-hydroxybutyrate, a compound which is elevated in blood of ethanol dependent rats and is a substrate of both the cerebral small-pool and large-pool Krebs-cycle, was effective in suppressing the tremulous component of the ethanol withdrawal syndrome. 3-Hydroxybutyrate did not function as a central nervous system depressant at the dose levels employed.