Pregnant and weanling rats were fed liquid diets with or without 30 percent of total kcal from ethanol and varying levels of copper in order to determine if ethanol ingestion would exaggerate a marginal copper status to an obvious copper deficiency. Pregnant albino rats were fed either 0.75 or 3.75 mg Cu/L throughout gestation and the first 15 days of lactation while female weanling rats received 0.5 or 2.5 mg Cu/L for 5 weeks. Ethanol consumption exaggerated a marginal copper status during reproduction as evidenced by significant reductions in maternal liver copper concentration and enzymatic activity of the copper metalloprotein Copper-Zinc superoxide dismutase in offspring liver. Ethanol had little or no effect upon copper status in weanling rats. In addition, serum copper failed to reflect a developing depletion of liver copper when ethanol was being consumed. Since it is known that the average American diet is just adequate in copper content, and that copper balance is difficult to achieve during times of increased metabolic demand, pregnant subjects may be at a great risk to develop a copper deficiency when ethanol is being consumed. This ethanol and copper interaction, however, will likely go undetected if only serum copper is used as an indicator of copper status. / Graduation date: 1989