Ethanol metabolism by the rat heart and alcohol dehydrogenase activity.

Rat hearts perfused with oxygenated buffer containing [1-14C]ethanol metabolized small amounts of the ethanol to carbon dioxide. Very sensitive techniques are required to separate the resulting 14CO2 from the ethanol. This metabolism is not inhibited by levels of pyrazole which markedly inhibit NAD dependent liver alcohol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.1). In vitro studies suggest that NADP functions as a cofactor for the rat heart alcohol dehydrogenase activity of crude heart homogenates. The kinetics parameters, the specific activity, and the pH dependence of the enzyme activity measured in these experiments suggest that it may have a minor role in ethanol metabolism by the rat.