Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs lower ethanol-mediated liver increase in lipids and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances.

Four nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs--namely, acetylsalicylic acid, naproxen, nimesulide, and dipyrone--were assayed to search their capability in preventing the hepatic increase of triacylglycerols and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, as an indication of lipid peroxidation, resulting from the acute intoxication of rats with ethanol. The four antiinflammatory compounds inhibited the ethanol-mediated increase in triacylglycerols and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. Furthermore, each one of these antiinflammatory drugs produced distinctive actions on blood ethanol levels: a temporal diminution with aspirin and naproxen, no changes with nimesulide, and an increase with dipyrone. It is concluded that the nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs contributed to controlling hepatic lipid peroxidation, and hence the oxidative stress promoted by ethanol intoxication.