Abstract

HERRERA BATISTA, Aleida; ROJAS RODRIGUEZ, . Liana Yanet; BACALLAO GALLESTEY, Jorge  and  LEBREDO ALVAREZ, Isis. Protective effects of folic acid on hepatocytes from adolescent alcoholic male rabbits. Rev Cubana Invest Bioméd [online]. 2007, vol.26, n.2, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-3011.

The protective effects of folic acid on hepatocytes of alcoholic adolescent rabbits were evaluated. To this end, morphometric variables like core area, cytoplasmic area and core area/ cytoplasmic area ratio were analyzed in hepatocytes of the 3 hepatic lobule areas. Twenty four rabbits divided into 4 groups were used; they were treated with ethanol, with ethanol and folic acid, with folic acid and untreated controls. For the morphometric study, we used software Image Tool for Windows 3000, and two-way interactive ANOVA was also applied. The animals treated with ethanol presented disturbances in morphometric variables, particularly in intermediate and perivenous areas. The alcoholic animals that received folic acid exhibited higher values of the studied variables than controls, but lower than those of the animals that just took ethanol. It was concluded that folic acid protects hepatocytes, and on the other hand, heterogeneity of hepatic lobule areas in all the studied groups was confirmed.

Keywords : Chronic alcoholism; adolescence; rabbits; alcoholic hepatopathies; folic acid; heterogeneity.