Protective Effect of Beta-Sitosterol against Ethanol Toxemia

Student's Name

Dakota Cooper, Minnesota State University, MankatoFollow
April Boucher-Zamzo, Minnesota State University, MankatoFollow

1st Student's Major

Biological Sciences

1st Student's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Additional Authors

April Boucher-Zamzo. College of Science, Engineering, and Technology. Department of Biological Sciences, Toxicology.

Students' Professional Biography

Dakota is from the village of Clinton, WI and recently graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Biology. He plans on pursuing a PhD degree in Virology and working of the Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology at the Center for Disease Control. April earned an associates degree in Biology and an associates degree in Biotechnology from Minneapolis Community Technical College, Minneapolis, MN. April will obtain a Bachelor's of Science in Biology with a Toxicology focus in 2018. She will be earning a PhD in Pharmacology/Toxicology in graduate school.

Mentor's Name

Steven Mercurio

Mentor's Email Address

steven.mercurio@mnsu.edu

Mentor's Department

Biological Sciences

Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Abstract

Herbal medications have no indications of interactions with alcohol on their labels. There has been at least one clinical finding that saw palmetto with active ingredient beta-sitosterol used for enlarged male prostates caused pancreatic damage. This study with 20 male mice hypothesized that ethanol would increase the toxicity of beta-sitosterol. It was found that mice dosed by gavage with 0.1 ml of 95 proof ethanol died starting at the second dose and increased to 100% by the sixth dose (unexpected based on literature). 60-microgram injections of beta-sitosterol prevented deaths in 80% of the mice past the sixth dose opposite to what was expected. Beta-sitosterol failed to protect the liver, enlarged the pancreas and protected the kidneys from ethanol induced damage.

Recommended Citation

Cooper, Dakota and Boucher-Zamzo, April (2017) "Protective Effect of Beta-Sitosterol against Ethanol Toxemia," Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato: Vol. 17, Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56816/2378-6949.1203
Available at: https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/jur/vol17/iss1/5

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License