ArticleExperimental and molecular pathology2011
Betaine feeding prevents the blood alcohol cycle in rats fed alcohol continuously for 1 month using the rat intragastric tube feeding model.
Article in Experimental and molecular pathology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of Folic Acid, Betaine, Vitamin B₆, and Vitamin B12 on Homocysteine and Dimethylglycine Levels in Middle-Aged Men Drinking White Wine.Nutrients · 2016Trial
- Studies on the functional role of UFMylation in cells (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2025Review
- Recent Advances in Betaine: Extraction, Identification, and Bioactive Functions in Human Health.Food science & nutrition · 2025Review
- Exercise-mimicking effects of betaine in chronic disease prevention and management.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Betaine regulates the gut-liver axis: a therapeutic approach for chronic liver diseases.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Betaine as a Functional Ingredient: Metabolism, Health-Promoting Attributes, Food Sources, Applications and Analysis Methods.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Beneficial Effects of Betaine: A Comprehensive Review.Biology · 2021Review
- Role of Chronic Alcoholism Causing Cancer in Omnivores and Vegetarians through Epigenetic Modifications.Global medical genetics · 2020Review
- Increased DNA methylation in the livers of patients with alcoholic hepatitis.Experimental and molecular pathology · 2015Article
- How to prevent alcoholic liver disease.Experimental and molecular pathology · 2015Review
- Mallory-Denk Body (MDB) formation modulates Ufmylation expression epigenetically in alcoholic hepatitis (AH) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).Experimental and molecular pathology · 2014Article
- New advances in molecular mechanisms and emerging therapeutic targets in alcoholic liver diseases.World journal of gastroenterology · 2014Review
- Rectification of impaired adipose tissue methylation status and lipolytic response contributes to hepatoprotective effect of betaine in a mouse model of alcoholic liver disease.British journal of pharmacology · 2014Article
- Folate, alcohol, and liver disease.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2013Review
- Epigenetic medicine and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.Epigenomics · 2013Review
- The role of hyperosmotic stress in inflammation and disease.Biomolecular concepts · 2012Article
- 4-Hydroxynonenal differentially regulates adiponectin gene expression and secretion via activating PPARγ and accelerating ubiquitin-proteasome degradation.Molecular and cellular endocrinology · 2012Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundBlood alcohol levels (BAL) cycle up and down over a 7-8 day period when ethanol is fed continuously for one month in the intragastric tube feeding rat model (ITFRM) of alcoholic liver disease. The cycling phenomenon is due to an alternating increase and decrease in the metabolic rate. Recently, we found that S-adenosyl-methionine (SAMe) fed with alcohol prevented the BAL cycle.
methodUsing the ITFRM we fed rats betaine (2 g/kg/day) with ethanol for 1 month and recorded the daily 24 h urine ethanol level (UAL) to measure the BAL cycle. UAL is equivalent to BAL because of the constant ethanol infusion. Liver histology, steatosis and BAL were measured terminally after 1 month of treatment. Microarray analysis was done on the mRNA extracted from the liver to determine the effects of betaine and alcohol on changes in gene expression.
resultsBetaine fed with ethanol completely prevented the BAL cycle similar to SAMe. Betaine also significantly reduced the BAL compared to ethanol fed rats without betaine. This was also observed when SAMe was fed with ethanol. The mechanism involved in both cases is that SAMe is required for the conversion of epinephrine from norepinephrine by phenylethanolamine methyltransferase (PNMT). Epinephrine is 5 to 10 fold more potent than norepinephrine in increasing the metabolic rate. The increase in the metabolic rate generates NAD, permitting ADH to increase the oxidation of alcohol. NAD is the rate limiting factor in oxidation of alcohol by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). This explains how SAMe and betaine prevented the cycle. Microarray analysis showed that betaine feeding prevented the up regulation of a large number of genes including TLR2/4, Il-1b, Jax3, Sirt3, Fas, Ifngr1, Tgfgr2, Tnfrsf21, Lbp and Stat 3 which could explain how betaine prevented fatty liver.
conclusionBetaine feeding lowers the BAL and prevents the BAL cycle by increasing the metabolic rate. This increases the rate of ethanol elimination by generating NAD.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.