The role of insulin in ethanol metabolism was investigated with the aid of C14-labeled ethanol. Surviving kidney and liver slices prepared from insulized rats oxidized ethanol to carbon dioxide at approximately the same rate as slices prepared from control rats. The data on the effect of insulin on the conversion of ethanol to lipids are equivocal since the P value is 0.036. There appears to be some increase in lipogenesis but not of an appreciable magnitude. The possibility that the beneficial effects noted in the treatment of acute alcohol intoxication with insulin may be the result of an increased synthetic metabolism is discussed.
