[Plasma clearance of ethanol and its excretion in the milk of rural women who consume pulque].

Women from rural areas of the central plateau of Mexico drink during pregnancy and lactation a mild alcoholic beverage called pulque as a galactogogue. Ethanol present in milk could have a harmful effect on growth and development of breast-fed children. The purpose of this study was to quantify the ethanol consumed as pulque by eleven lactating rural women as well as its clearance rate in blood and milk. Mothers were separated in two groups depending upon the ethanol ingested in a single dose of pulque 0.21 +/- 0.08 g/kg of body weight (group A) and 0.44 +/- 0.11 g/kg (group B). Maximal concentration of ethanol was reached in milk at 60 minutes and almost equaled that in plasma. Both groups showed a similar clearance pattern regardless of the volume of pulque ingested. Clearance rates between groups were different: ethanol concentration in milk at 60 min were 8.4 +/- 3.0 mg/dL for group A and 26.2 +/- 7.0 mg/dL for group B. Two hours later ethanol levels were 3.6 +/- 3.4 mg/dL and 23.3 +/- 9.4 mg/dL respectively. Clearance rates were slower in mothers showing the highest concentration of ethanol in milk. The present data demonstrate that there is no differential elimination of ethanol in maternal blood and milk following ingestion of a moderate amount of pulque during lactation. The amount of ethanol received by infants through milk is relatively low and therefore it is unlikely to have harmful effects on them. Pulque consumption adds about 350 kcal/day to the customary dietary intake of these lactating women.