Effects of Dietary Protein and Ethanol Intake on Pregnant Beagles Fed Purified Diets

Maternal weight gain of beagles was approximately 50% lower when ethanol was given twice daily at a dose of 1.8 g/kg body weight with either control protein (17% energy from protein) or low protein (8.5%) diet as compared to isocalorically sucrose-treated animals. Similarly, pup birth weights were about 27% lower from beagles given ethanol with either diet when compared to those from sucrose-treated bitches. Two weeks after beginning ethanol treatment, pregnant bitches fed either diet had higher hematocrit values and lower plasma concentrations of albumin and calcium as compared to sucrose-treated animals. Low dietary protein treatment, rather than ethanol, lowered maternal concentrations of red blood cell folate during pregnancy. As compared to sucrose-treated bitches, ethanol prevented folate levels in red blood cells from returning to the normal range by the 9th wk of pregnancy in animals fed low dietary protein. These data show that ethanol consumption and low dietary protein intake, independently of each other, significantly depress maternal weight gain, pup birth weight and some nutritionally related parameters of the mother.