Fatty acid ethyl esters: non-oxidative metabolites of ethanol.

Fatty acid ethyl esters are esterification products of fatty acids and ethanol. These compounds have been detected in the serum and cells of individuals following ethanol ingestion. Fatty acid ethyl esters can be quantitated by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) in the serum following ethanol ingestion and have been found in concentrations up to 42 microM. Fatty acid ethyl esters have also been isolated from adipose tissue of subjects ingesting fatty acid ethyl ester capsules as well as from subjects ingesting ethanol. HepG2 cells, a human hepatoblastoma cell line, have also been shown to generate fatty acid ethyl esters when incubated with 1.25 microM fatty acid and 0.17 M ethanol. Fatty acid ethyl esters were found to be toxic to HepG2 cells when presented to the cells in the core of low density lipoprotein particles.