Effect of dietary carbohydrates and ethanol on the activity of microsomal drug-metabolizing enzymes in rat liver.

Effects of fructose, starch, lactose plus starch and ethanol on the drug-metabolizing enzyme system of the liver were analyzed in rats fed fructose, starch or lactose plus starch diets for 21 days. The activity of aminopyrine demethylase and aniline hydroxylase and the level of cytochrome P-450 increased significantly in rats fed lactose plus starch compared to the groups fed fructose or starch diets. The activity of aniline hydroxylase increased as a result of ethanol, independent of the nature of the carbohydrate but in this case the highest activity was also found in the livers of rats previously fed a lactose plus starch diet.