Hippocampal and striated skeletal muscle changes in fatty acid composition induced by ethanol in alcohol-preferring rats

Chronic ethanol intake affects various organ systems of the body. The present study evaluated modifications of fatty acid concentrations both in brain and striated skeletal muscles of rats genetically selected for voluntary high ethanol intake. Three groups of rats were tracked for 10 weeks of access to ethanol only as fluid (group 1) to free choice of ethanol and water (group 2) or to water only (group 3). At the end of the period, the animals were sacrificed and their brain hippocampus and striated skeletal muscles were removed and fatty acid content of these tissues was determined. Long-chain fatty acid content increased in the hippocampus while it decreased in the striated skeletal muscles. Short chain fatty acid content decreased in the hippocampus while short chain fatty acid content increased in the striated skeletal muscles. The data show that brain and striated skeletal muscles differently modulate fatty acid content perhaps because these areas utilize different cell membrane functionality regulation systems.