Abstract

The study was undertaken to determine if there is a synergistic effect of alcohol and caffeine on levels of serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA).

Male weanling rats were given a choice between water and a 10% ethanol solution and were placed on a vitamin deficient diet previously demonstrated to increase appetite for alcohol. After 11 weeks of stabilization they were divided into groups of high, low, and middle drinkers. The high and low drinking groups were maintained on a diet providing coffee equivalent to 9 cups per day in the human. High drinkers had ad lib.access to 10% ethanol. The middle drinkers were subdivided into two experimental groups—one group received caffeine equivalent to the amount found in 9 cups of coffee per day, in their ration, the other did not: middle drinkers had ad lib. access to 10% alcohol solution. Another group of unrelated rats were naive to ethanol and maintained on rations identical to those used for the middle drinkers.

Caffeine deprivation in habitually drinking rats causes a temporary decrease in ethanol consumption (29.9 ml/wk 10% EtOH to 9 ml/wk at the end of Week I). However, within four weeks consumption surpassed predeprivation levels (34.1 ml/wk).

Serotonin and 5-HIAA levels in brain tissue were determined by fluorometric analysis by a modification of the method developed by Curzon and Green (1970). When analyzed by stepwise regression analysis, caffeine alone was not a significant predictor of either 5-HT or 5-HIAA levels. Highly significant differences were found for both 5-HT and 5-HIAA between high and low drinkers (P=.0056 and .0001). Alcohol was the most significant predictor for 5HT (32.02% of factors) and caffeine the most significant predictor of 5-HIAA (20.75/ of the factors).

LLU Discipline

Nutrition

Department

Nutrition

School

Graduate School

First Advisor

James W. Blankenship

Second Advisor

U. D. Register

Third Advisor

Kathleen K. Zolber

Fourth Advisor

Kenneth Burke

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Degree Level

M.S.

Year Degree Awarded

1976

Date (Title Page)

8-1976

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Alcohol Drinking -- physiology; Caffeine -- physiology.

Type

Thesis

Page Count

vi; 43

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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