Beneficial effects of low doses of ethanol on reoxygenation injury following anoxia in rat hearts.

We investigated the effect of ethanol on adverse effects of anoxia and reoxygenation in isolated rat hearts. Perfusion of the anoxic Krebs-Henseleit medium for 40 min followed by 30 min of perfusion with aerobic medium produced considerable myocardial cell injury. Incorporation of ethanol (21.7 mM), in both anoxic and aerobic perfusion media resulted in a significant reduction of cell injury and inhibition of creatine phosphokinase release. The contraction bands were reduced to 0.24 as compared to 1.14 per field in the non-treated hearts. The tissue Ca++ was decreased to 8.72 mumol/gm/dry dry wt as compared to 20.17 mumol/gm/dry wt), as compared to the nontreated anoxic tissue (4.41 mumol/gm/dry wt). However, the inclusion of only ethanol in the anoxic medium did not decrease the damage, suggesting that maximal injury occurred during reoxygenation. Ethanol appears to inhibit myofibril contractures and preserve the structural integrity of plasma membrane during anoxia and reoxygenation. This study suggests a beneficial effect of ethanol in low doses on the post anoxic reperfusion injury in the myocardium.