To determine if meconium fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) in rat pups is a good biomarker of prenatal exposure and effect to alcohol, three groups of pregnant rats were studied: one control (pair fed) and two treatment groups given 25% alcohol at 2.2 or 5.5 g⁻¹ kg⁻¹ d⁻¹. The pups were delivered on day 20 and, for each dam, were separated into a male and female group. The body, brain, intestines, and placenta of the pups were obtained, weighed, and stored at −20°C. The pups’ intestines (as surrogate of meconium) from each group were pooled, and meconium was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy for FAEE. The meconium showed the following FAEE: ethyl palmitate, ethyl stearate, and ethyl linolenate and were only found in the alcohol-treated group and with high specificity but low sensitivity. Mean body weight of the pups was lower in the treatment groups compared to the control groups. Ethyl palmitate concentration correlated negatively to the pups’ mean body and brain weights. Therefore, ethyl palmitate, stearate, and linolenate, in meconium of rat pups prenatally exposed to alcohol, are useful biomarkers of prenatal alcohol exposure, with ethyl palmitate a good biomarker of adverse effect on the pups’ body and brain weight.

为了确定幼鼠胎粪脂肪酸乙酯 (FAEE) 是否是产前暴露和酒精影响的良好生物标志物，我们对三组怀孕大鼠进行了研究：一组对照组（配对喂养）和两组给予 2.2 度 25% 酒精的治疗组。或5.5g ^-1 kg ^-1 d ^-1 。这些幼崽在第 20 天出生，每只母鼠都被分成雄性和雌性组。获取幼崽的身体、大脑、肠道和胎盘，称重并保存在-20°C。汇集每组幼仔的肠道（作为胎便的替代品），并通过气相色谱/质谱法分析胎便的 FAEE。胎粪显示以下 FAEE：棕榈酸乙酯、硬脂酸乙酯和亚麻酸乙酯，仅在酒精处理组中发现，特异性高但敏感性低。与对照组相比，治疗组幼犬的平均体重较低。棕榈酸乙酯浓度与幼崽的平均体重和脑重呈负相关。因此，产前接触酒精的幼鼠胎便中的棕榈酸乙酯、硬脂酸乙酯和亚麻酸是产前酒精暴露的有用生物标志物，其中棕榈酸乙酯是对幼鼠身体和脑重量产生不利影响的良好生物标志物。