RESUMO
Energy balance of female rats that were either injected daily with ethanol or received the alcohol by gavage was determined and the results compared with saline animals. Food intake, feces elimination, and body weight were recorded daily. After a 20-day period of treatment the animals were sacrificed and the energy content of the carcasses and feces was determined by bomb calorimetry. The results indicated that ethanol-injected animals underwent an impairment in the energy balance, with losses in body weight and body energy. Also, there was a decrease in metabolized energy intake. The results of a group of saline rats pair-fed to alcohol-injected rats showed that the impairment of the energy balance was not only a consequence of the decreased energy intake, because the ethanol-fed animals had an energy balance that was worse than the one of the pair-fed rats, even though both had eaten the same amount of food. Nevertheless, when alcohol was given by gavage, no alteration in the energy balance parameters was detected. Macroscopic observation of the abdominal cavity showed adherences in the gut of the alcohol-injected animals. It is concluded that the ethanol by itself does not alter the energy balance; however, depending on the route of administration it could indirectly impair the energy balance.