Effect of chronic and non-chronic moderate wine consumption upon rat lipoprotein profile in the blood. (c2002)

Abstract

In recent years there has been increasing recognition of the beneficial effects of moderate consumption of alcohol, particularly with respect to cardiovascular disease. In the present work, it was attempted to evaluate the effects of non-chronic and chronic (two months and six months) 3% alcohol consumption as from red wine or white wine in drinking water, on various circulating lipids and apolipoprotein B (apo B) in the fasted and the postprandial states. Three hours after instillation of an intragastric load consisting of alcohol (as wine or ethanol) and olive oil (30% w/v in 154 mM NaCI), blood samples were collected and the lipoprotein profile studied. Wine consumption co-administered with the oil load resulted in significant increases in plasma triacylgycerol (TAG) and cholesterol. Similar increases were observed in chylomicron TAG, cholesterol, phospholipids and apo B48, and VLDL TAG, apo B48 and apo BIOO. When the same ethanol dose was used instead of wine, results showed similar trends but without being consistently significant. After a two months period of 3% alcohol intake, fasting plasma TAG concentrations were not affected by chronic alcohol intake (as red wine or white wine), while plasma total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol concentrations were significantly decreased. On the other hand, HDL cholesterol concentrations were moderately increased (about 15%). Both wine groups showed significant increases in fasting glucose levels as compared with the control group whereas fasting plasma insulin concentrations in both wine groups were similar to those in the control group. In order to study the chronic effect of alcohol consumption in the postprandial state, animals were maintained on a 3% alcohol dose in drinking water for a period of two or six months. Red and white wines were used in both chronic studies. Three hours after intragastric instillation of the alcohol and fat load in fasted animals, blood samples were collected to study the lipoprotein profile. Determination of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase - aspartate amino transferase (GOT-AST) activities in the blood, confirmed that the rat liver functions were not impaired by the chronic moderate intake of alcohol. Both chronic studies did not show consistent significant increases in plasma TAG and cholesterol. Also, the plasma glucose concentrations of both wine groups and the control were similar. In the two months chronic study, the cholesterol and phospholipid concentrations in the chylomicron fractions were slightly increased relative to the control. Chylomicron TAG concentrations were increased in the wine groups but significance was only reached in the red wine group. Apo B48 concentrations of both wine groups were significantly higher than that of the control. In the six months study, the chylomicron cholesterol, TAG, phospholipid and apo B48 concentrations were significantly increased in both wine groups compared with the control. Chronic alcohol consumption as both red and white wine resulted in an increased VLDL TAG, apo B48 and apo B100 secretion (p<0.05).