ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND THE INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE ON ENZYME ACTIVITY OF WISTAR RATS

ABSTRACT

Introduction:  Biomarkers have been used to monitor the use of alcohol and currently the most sensitive and specific are the liver enzymes, for example, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP).

Objective:  To determine through animal experiments the changes caused by alcohol and the physical activity in liver and pancreatic enzymes.

Methods:  Twenty-four Wistar rats were randomly assigned into experimental groups, housed in cages with controlled environment, divided according to the treatment received. In the initial treatment, alcohol was administered to sedentary alcohol (SA) and exercised alcohol (EA) groups and at the end of the fourth week the program of physical training on a treadmill began with the AE and control exercised (CE) groups. Blood collection was performed by cardiac puncture at the end of each experiment. For the statistical analysis we used analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey test and Kruskal-Wallis test.

Results:  The AS group had significantly higher values of ALT and ALP when compared to CE and EA groups, respectively. No significant differences were observed between the four groups for the parameters AST, GGT and amylase.

Conclusion:  The association between alcohol consumption and physical inactivity increased the release of the enzymes ALT and ALP in Wistar rats; the practice of aerobic exercise after alcohol withdrawal prevented the increased release of ALP in the plasma of these animals.

Keywords: alcoholism/enzymology; motor activity; rats; Wistar