Effect of ethanol feeding on the urinary histamine level of the pregnant rat.

The influence of ethanol feeding during pregnancy on histamine excretion was studied. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats (N = 5) were fed a liquid diet containing 30% ethanol-derived calories from gestation-day 7 to 21; control rats (N = 5) were pair-fed with isocaloric sucrose substituted for ethanol. Twenty-four hour urines were collected for histamine analysis. Rats were killed on day 21 of gestation. Food and ethanol intakes averaged 260 kcal and 11 g/kg/day, respectively. No differences were found between ethanol and control rats in maternal weight gain, litter size or in fetal and placental weights. Although urinary histamine increased in all rats with the advance of pregnancy, on day 16, ethanol rats excreted significantly more (47%) than the controls (199.1 +/- 33.9 vs 135.5 +/- 51.4 ug/24 hr); on day 20, it was 123% more (534.6 +/- 114.4 vs 239.5 +/- 99.3 ug/24 hr). Ethanol enhanced urinary histamine did not reflect the histamine content or histidine decarboxylase activity of fetal liver, presumed site of histamine formation; its physiological significance is discussed.