Multiple studies show intimate connections between ceramide-induced cell death and mitochondrial function. Ceramide is a pleiotropic lipid messenger that regulates a diverse range of cellular processes, including apoptosis, cell growth, and differentiation. Cardiolipin is a phospholipid localized in the inner mitochondrial membrane. A loss of cardiolipin content and alterations in its acyl chain composition have been associated with mitochondrial dysfunction in multiple tissues in a variety of pathological conditions. The purpose of the present study was to find approach for сorrection of ethanol-induced changes in the glycerophospholipids content in rat tissues. This study was carried out on male Wistar 3-months old rats. Animals were divided into the following groups: 1 — control, 2 — animals treated with 40% ethanol solution for 7 days in an amount of 10 ml per kg body weight by intragastric administration, 3 — rats, received in addition to ethanol fish oil in the amount of 1 g per 100 g of body weight for 7 days, 4 — rats, received quercetin 50 mg per kg body weight for 7 days in addition to ethanol. Lipids were extracted by Bligh and Dyer method, phospholipids were fractionated by one-dimensional thin layer chromatography. It has been shown that ethanol administration causes a decrease in the content of cardiolipin and sphingomyelin, and also leads to the accumulation of ceramide and phosphatidic acid in heart and liver of rats. At the same time, quercetin and fish oil n-3 fatty acid restored the lipids contents to the level of control animals.
