Skip to main content
Log in

Chronopharmacokinetics of ethanol

II. Circadian rhythm in rate of blood level decline in a single subject

  • Published:
Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

A male human subject administered single, oral doses of ethanol was examined repeatedly for venous ethanol levels. Four separate trials, begun at 03.00, 09.00, 15.00, and 21.00 h, on different days yielded four different estimates of the slope of the apparently linear ethanol disappearance curve. The slopes appeared to exhibit circadian rhythmicity. In a second study of the same subject, the slope was estimated 7 times over a period of 26 h following repeated oral doses. These slopes also appeared to vary in a daily fashion. These preliminary results suggest that pharmacokinetic parameters may not be invariable with time of day.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abele, G.: Die Abhängigkeit des Faktors β von der Konzentrationshöhe. Dtsch. Z. gericht. Med. 44, 374–382 (1955)

    Google Scholar 

  • Carter, D. E., Bressler, R., Hughes, M. R., Haussler, M. R., Christian, C. D., Heine, M. W.: Effect of oral contraceptives on plasma clearance. Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. 18, 700–707 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Dost, F. H.: Grundlagen der Pharmakokinetik, 2nd ed. Stuttgart: Thieme 1968

    Google Scholar 

  • Elbel, H., Schleyer, F.: Blutalkohol. Die wissenschaftlichen Grundlagen der Beurteilung von Blutalkoholbefunden bei Straßenverkehrsdelikten, 2nd ed. Stuttgart, Thieme 1956

    Google Scholar 

  • Grüner, O., Sattler, H.: Untersuchungen über den Einfluß orthostatisch bedingter Blut- und Wasserverschiebungen auf den Verlauf der Blutalkoholkurve. Dtsch. Z. gericht. Med. 47, 276–281 (1958)

    Google Scholar 

  • Halberg, F.: From aniatrotoxicosis and aniatrosepsis toward chemotherapy. In: Chronobiological aspects of endocrinology (J. Aschoff, F. Ceresa, and F. Halberg, eds.), pp. 1–33. Stuttgart: Schattauer 1974

    Google Scholar 

  • Halberg, F., Tong, Y. L., Johnson, E. A.: Circadian system phase.—An aspect of temporal morphology; procedures and illustrative examples. In: The cellular aspects of biorhythms (H. von Mayersbach, ed.), pp. 20–48. Berlin-Heidelberg-New York: Springer 1967

    Google Scholar 

  • Haus, E.: Periodicity in response and susceptibility to environmental stimuli. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 117, 292–319 (1964)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins, R. D., Kalant, H.: The metabolism of ethanol and its metabolic effects. Pharmacol. Rev. 24, 67–157 (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, B. M.: Circadian variation in the effects of alcohol on cognitive performance. Quart. J. Stud. Alcohol 35, 1212–1219 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, B. M., Jones, M. K.: Effects of a moderate dose of alcohol on female social drinkers at different times in the menstrual cycle. Chronobiologia, Suppl. 1, 34 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Krieger, D. T.: Factors influencing the circadian periodicity of plasma corticosteroid levels. Chronobiologia 1, 195–216 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Krieger, D. T.: Rhythms of ACTH and corticosteroid secretion in health and disease, and their experimental modification. J. Ster. Biochem. 6, 785–791 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Levy, G.: Effect of bed rest on distribution and elimination of drugs. J. pharmaceut. Sci. 56, 928–929 (1967)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lucis, O. J., Lucis, R.: Oral contraceptives and endocrine changes. Bull. Wld Hlth Org. 46, 443–450 (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lundquist, F., Wolthers, H.: The kinetics of alcohol elimination in man. Acta pharmacol. (Kbh.) 14, 265–289 (1958)

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore Ede, M. C.: Circadian rhythms of drug effectiveness and toxicity. Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. 14, 925–935 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, W., Halberg, F.: An evaluation of time-dependent changes in susceptibility of mice to pentobarbital injection. Neuropharmacology 12, 509–524 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Newman, H. H.: Acute alcoholic intoxication. A critical review. Stanford Univ. Press 1941

  • Pauly, J. E., Scheving, L. E., Sturtevant, F. M., Sturtevant, R. P.: Evidence for circadian variation in the metabolism of ethanol in man. Proc. X. Int. Cong. Anat., Tokyo, p. 522 (1975)

  • Procacci, P., Della Corte, M., Zoppi, M., Maresca, M.: Rhythmic changes of the cutaneous pain threshold in man. A general review. Chronobiologia 1, 77–96 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Reinberg, A., Halberg, F.: Circadian chronopharmacology. Ann. Rev. Pharmacol. 11, 455–492 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Reinberg, A., Clench, J., Aymard, N., Galliot, M., Bourdon, R., Gervais, P., Abulker, C., Dupont, J.: Rhythmes circadiens des paramètres de l'éthanolémie provoquée chez six hommes adultes, jeunes et sains. C. R. Acad. Sci. (Paris) 278, 1503–1505 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutenfranz, J., Singer, R.: Untersuchungen zur Frage einer Abhängigkeit der Alkoholwirkung von der Tageszeit. Int. Z. angew. Physiol. 24, 1–17 (1967)

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheving, L. E., von Mayersbach, H., Pauly, J. E.: An overview of chronopharmacology. J. Europ. Toxicol. 7, 203–227 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Schønheyder, F., Petersen, O. S., Terkildsen, K., Petersen, V. P.: On the variation of the alcoholemic curve. Acta med. scand. 109, 460–470 (1942)

    Google Scholar 

  • Stupfel, M.: Biorhythms in toxicology and pharmacology. I. Generalities, ultradian and circadian biorhythms. Biomedicine 22, 18–24 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sturtevant, F. M.: Chronopharmacokinetics of ethanol. I. Review of the literature and theoretical considerations. Chronobiologia (in press, 1976)

  • Sturtevant, F. M., Sturtevant, R. P., Scheving, L. E., Pauly, J. E.: Chronopharmacokinetics of ethanol in man. Chronobiologia, Suppl. 1, 69 (1975a)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sturtevant, F. M., Sturtevant, R. P., Scheving, L. E., Pauly, J. E.: Chronopharmacokinetics of ethanol in man. Pharmacologist 17, 194 (1975b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Swoyer, J., Lakatua, D. J., Haus, E., Warner, T., Sackett, L.: Circadian rhythm in ethanol disappearance rate from human plasma. Chronobiologia, Suppl. 1, 72 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Cauter, E., Golstein, J., Vanhaelst, L., Leclerq, R.: Effects of oral contraceptive therapy on the circadian patterns of cortisol and thyrotropin (TSH). Europ. J. clin. Invest. 5, 115–121 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Vekemans, M., Robyn, C.: The influence of exogenous estrogen on the circadian periodicity of circulating prolactin in women. J. clin. Endocr. 40, 886–889 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, J. G., Patel, J. A.: Variations in absorption and elimination rates of ethyl alcohol in a single subject. Res. Commun. chem. Path. Pharmacol. 4, 61–76 (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallgren, H.: Absorption, diffusion, distribution and elimination of ethanol. Effect on biological membranes. In: Alcohols and derivatives, Vol. I, International Encyclopedia of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, pp. 161–188. London: Pergamon 1970

    Google Scholar 

  • Widmark, E. M. P.: Les lois cardinales de la distribution et du métabolisme de l'alcool éthylique dans l'organisme humain. Kungl. fysiograf. Sällskapets Hanlingar. N.F. 41, 1–58 (1930)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, R. H. L., Newman, E. J., Newman, H. W.: Diurnal variation in rate of alcohol metabolism. J. appl. Physiol. 8, 556–558 (1956)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

Preliminary accounts were presented in part before the International Society for Chronobiology, Bethesda, Maryland, August 13, 1975; The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Davis, California, August 19, 1975; and the X. International Congress of Anatomists, Tokyo, Japan, August 27, 1975 (Sturtevant et al., 1975a, b; Pauly et al., 1975).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sturtevant, F.M., Sturtevant, R.P., Scheving, L.E. et al. Chronopharmacokinetics of ethanol. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Pharmacol. 293, 203–208 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00507342

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00507342

Key words

Navigation