The Eurocollins (EC) and University of Wisconsin (UW) preservation solutions were compared in a rat liver transplant model. After hepatectomy, 48 rat livers were flushed with either EC or UW preservation solution and were randomly assigned to 1, 12, 24, and 30 h of preservation at 4 degrees C, resulting in eight groups each containing six livers. Following preservation, orthotopic liver transplantation with reconstruction of the hepatic artery was performed. The efficacy of the preservation solution was assessed at 48 h post-transplantation by survival histological features and aspartate transaminase assay (AST) values. None of the rats survived 30 h of liver preservation with EC whereas five out of six rats did with UW preservation. After 24 h of liver preservation, three of the six rats in the EC group survived, compared to all six rats in the UW group. Histological evidence of severe ischemia was found in both groups in all but one survivor (UW, 24 h). After 12 h of EC preservation, one rat died within 48 h and severe ischemic changes were found in the remaining five rats. Among the rats with 12 h of UW preservation, only two out of six showed ischemic changes, and all six rats survived beyond 48 h. Without preservation (1 h), ischemic damage was found in two out of six rats in each group and all rats survived. The median AST values were higher in the EC groups than in the UW groups; the difference became significant after 12-h preservation (EC 900 IU/l versus UW 465 IU/l) and 24-h preservation (EC 5220 IU/l versus UW 631 IU/l).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)