Effects of the herb mixture, DTS20, on oxidative stress and plasma alcoholic metabolites after alcohol consumption in healthy young men

Biomarkers of moderate alcohol intake and alcoholic beverages: a systematic literature review

The predominant source of alcohol in the diet is alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, spirits and liquors, sweet wine, and ciders. Self-reported alcohol intakes are likely to be influenced by measurement error, thus affecting the accuracy and precision of currently established epidemiological associations between alcohol itself, alcoholic beverage consumption, and health or disease. Therefore, a more objective assessment of alcohol intake would be very valuable, which may be established through biomarkers of food intake (BFIs). Several direct and indirect alcohol intake biomarkers have been proposed in forensic and clinical contexts to assess recent or longer-term intakes. Protocols for performing systematic reviews in this field, as well as for assessing the validity of candidate BFIs, have been developed within the Food Biomarker Alliance (FoodBAll) project. The aim of this systematic review is to list and validate biomarkers of ethanol intake per se excluding markers of abuse, but including biomarkers related to common categories of alcoholic beverages. Validation of the proposed candidate biomarker(s) for alcohol itself and for each alcoholic beverage was done according to the published guideline for biomarker reviews. In conclusion, common biomarkers of alcohol intake, e.g., as ethyl glucuronide, ethyl sulfate, fatty acid ethyl esters, and phosphatidyl ethanol, show considerable inter-individual response, especially at low to moderate intakes, and need further development and improved validation, while BFIs for beer and wine are highly promising and may help in more accurate intake assessments for these specific beverages.

Influence of food commodities on hangover based on alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase activities

Alcohol consumption often leads to hangover, a condition characterized by several symptoms, characteristically headache, nausea, fatigue and drowsiness. Hangover may be alleviated by altering the rate of alcohol metabolism and facilitating elimination of acetaldehyde by affecting the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and/or aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) enzymes. In the present study, several food commodities like fruits, vegetables, cereals, pulses, dairy products, spices and other miscellaneous products (ascorbic acid, cocoa sample, tea, coffee, egg yolk and date samples) were investigated for their effect on the in vitro activities of the enzymes and their antioxidant properties. Of the many screened food commodities, few showed an increase in the activity of either one or both the enzymes, ADH and ALDH. Studies showed no correlation between ADH and ALDH enzyme activities and antioxidant property of the selected food commodities for anti-hangover effect. Further, an anti-hangover (AHO) product was developed using pear (65%), sweet lime (25%) and coconut water (10%) and, validated for in vitro ADH and ALDH enzyme activities. AHO product was found to enhance ADH and ALDH activities by 23.31% and 70.02%, respectively.

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Screening of food influencing alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activities.

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Foods commodities enhancing ADH and/or ALDH activities can be used in AHO formulation.

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Pear (65%), sweetlime (25%) and coconut water(10%) used in anti-hangover (AHO) formulation.

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AHO product had increased ADH (23.3%) and ALDH (70.02%) activities.

Dietary Nutrient Intake, Alcohol Metabolism, and Hangover Severity

Several dietary components have been shown to influence alcohol metabolism and thereby potentially affect the development of a hangover. From the literature, it is evident that dietary nicotinic acid and zinc play a pivotal role in the oxidation of ethanol into acetaldehyde. The aim of the current study was to associate dietary intake of nicotinic acid and zinc with hangover severity. To this end, data from n = 23 healthy social drinkers who participated in a naturalistic hangover study were analyzed. n = 10 of them reported to be hangover-resistant (the control group), whereas n = 13 reported to have regular hangovers (the hangover-sensitive group). Two 24 h dietary recall records were completed, one for the day of alcohol consumption and another one for an alcohol-free control day. Dietary nutrient intake was averaged and did not significantly differ between hangover-sensitive and hangover-resistant drinkers. For the hangover-sensitive drinkers, partial correlations with overall hangover severity were computed, controlling for estimated blood alcohol concentration. A bootstrapping technique was applied to account for the relatively small sample size. The results showed that dietary intake of nicotinic acid (r_PB = −0.521) and zinc (r_PB = −0.341) were significantly and negatively associated (p < 0.002) with overall hangover severity. Dietary zinc intake was also significantly and negatively associated with severity of vomiting (r_PB = −0.577, p < 0.002). No significant associations with hangover severity were found for other nutrients, such as fat and fibers. In conclusion, this study suggests that social drinkers who have a higher dietary intake of nicotinic acid and zinc report significantly less severe hangovers. As hangover-resistant and hangover-sensitive drinkers had a similar dietary nutrient intake, the claim of being hangover-resistant must be based on other unknown biopsychosocial factors. These findings should be replicated in a larger sample and include more elaborate food frequency questionnaires or nutrient-specific dietary intake records for zinc and nicotinic acid, and preferably accompanied by nutrient assessments in urine and/or blood.

Effect of Mixed Fruit and Vegetable Juice on Alcohol Hangovers in Healthy Adults

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of mixed fruit and vegetable juice on alcohol hangover in healthy adults in a randomized crossover trial. Angelica keiskei/green grape/pear juice (AGP juice) was a mixture of A. keiskei juice, green grape juice, and pear juice at 1:1:1 ratio. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activities of AGP juice were measured in vitro. Fifteen healthy adults consumed alcohol (1.25 g/kg weight), and either water (control group) or AGP juice (AGP juice group). Blood was collected and expiratory-air alcohol levels were measured at 0~360 min after drinking the alcohol. Compared with control, AGP juice had higher ADH and ALDH activity in vitro. The peak alcohol levels in expiratory-air and plasma after drinking AGP juice were significantly lower than those after drinking water. The area under the curves for expiratory-air and plasma alcohol of the AGP juice group were lower than those of the control group. Thirst and headache scores after intake of alcohol were significantly reduced by AGP juice consumption compared with the control group. These data demonstrated that AGP juice could contribute to eliminate alcohol toxicity and hangover symptoms by enhancing alcohol metabolizing enzyme activities.