Effect of Diet on Rate of Alcohol Oxidation by the Liver. ∗

Summary

1. Weanling rat liver homogenate had about one-half the level of alcohol oxidation activity eventually achieved by adult rats on a chow diet (net oxygen uptake of 24 cmm per 10 minutes per 200 mg fresh liver for the adult normal rat). 85% or 75% respectively of this normal level of activity was reached by feeding chow or a purified 24% casein diet for 2 weeks. A protein-free diet removed about 85% of this enzymatic activity from the liver. 2. Adult rats responded similarly to these diets. Complete starvation for 7 days reduced this activity about 50%, while a 50% food restriction for 2 weeks gave less than a 20% decrease in the rate of alcohol oxidation.