Blood ethanol concentrations in rats drinking sucrose/ethanol solutions

Background: The addition of sucrose to ethanol solutions results in a substantial increase in ethanol self-administration by rats that are deprived of neither food nor water. however, if sucrose alters ethanol absorption or metabolism, resulting in blood ethanol concentrations (BECs) not different from those resulting from lower intakes of ethanol/water solutions, then the usefulness of sucrose/ethanol mixtures in increasing ethanol consumption is questionable. The present study was conducted to determine whether the addition of sucrose to ethanol solutions altered BECs in an operant self-administration paradigm. Methods: Tail blood (from male Long-Evans rats) was collected 30 min after the intake of four different solutions, i.e., 5% sucrose/20% ethanol, 5% sucrose/10% ethanol,2% sucrose/10% ethanol, and 10% ethanol. Results: Ethanol intakes (mean, 1.57 +/- 0.21 g/kg) and BECs (mean, 78.4 +/- 9.3 mg/100 ml) were highest when 5% sucrose was added to the ethanol solution. Moreover, the ratios between ethanol intakes and resulting BECs were approximately the same for all solutions. Conclusions: These findings indicate that, under the conditions of this procedure, the BEC reached is dependent on the amount of ethanol consumed and is not influenced by the addition of sucrose to the solution.