Deposition of ethyl glucuronide in WHP rat hair after chronic ethanol intake.

Anna Małkowska, Mirosław Szutowski, Wanda Dyr

Index: Pharmacol. Rep. 64(3) , 586-93, (2012)

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Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between ethanol intake in rats and the resulting level of ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in rat hair.Rats (n = 50) consumed a 10% ethanol solution for 4 weeks, then EtG was extracted from samples of their hair using a novel extraction procedure involving freezing and thawing. The EtG concentration was measured using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The animals voluntarily drank ethanol, with daily consumption in most rats exceeding 5 g/kg b.w. The silylated EtG was stable for at least 28 h. The limit of detection was 0.03 ng/mg, and the limit of quantification was 0.1 ng/mg.Hair samples from rats that consumed ethanol had EtG levels ranging from 0.17-20.72 ng/mg in female rats and 0.15-13.72 ng/mg in males. There was a correlation between the amount of alcohol consumed and the EtG levels in hair from female (p < 0.01), but not male, rats.The method presented allows detection and quantification of EtG in rat hair. We also observed differences in EtG deposition in male and female rats.