Reduction in the rate of ethanol elimination in vivo by desferrioxamine and diethylene-triaminepentaacetic acid: Suggestion for involvement of hydroxyl radicals in ethanol oxidation

Recent studies have suggested a possible role for hydroxyl radicals (OH super(.)) in the microsomal production of acetaldehyde from ethanol. The generation of OH super(.) is known to require superoxide and H sub(2)O sub(2) and to involve ferric ions as catalyst. Some iron-chelators like desferrioxamine (DFO) and diethylene-triaminepentaacetic acid (detapac) have been reported to inhibit OH super(.) formation in vitro by chelating the catalytic iron. Consequently, if OH super(.) dependent systems play a significant role in the elimination of ethanol, one would expect these agents to interfere with ethanol metabolism. It has been reported that the microsomal oxidation of ethanol in vitro can be divided into two components, a DFO sensitive and a DFO insensitive. The microsomal oxidation of ethanol has also been reported to be slightly inhibited by detapac. What remains unclear is the importance of the OH super(.) dependent process of ethanol oxidation in the overall elimination of ethanol in vivo. To ascertain such a role for OH super(.), the authors studied the effect of DFO and detapac on ethanol elimination in the rat.