A gel that breaks down alcohol in the stomach has been released, helping to prevent hangovers
Many people have made a one-off vow to never drink alcohol again after a hangover or bad hangover after drinking too much. A paper has been published about a milk protein-based gel that can reduce blood alcohol concentration by up to 50% by breaking down alcohol in the stomach and intestines.
Single-site iron-anchored amyloid hydrogels as catalytic platforms for alcohol detoxification | Nature Nanotechnology
New gel breaks down alcohol in the body | ETH Zurich
https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2024/05/press-release-new-gel-breaks-down-alcohol-in-the-body.html
Alcohol is widely enjoyed due to its relaxing effect, but research results are being reported one after another indicating that even small amounts of alcohol can lead to health problems, such as the serious effects on the brain of even half a can of beer. Research has been conducted for some time on neutralizing agents to mitigate the harmful effects of alcohol, but most of these have complex actions and are not very effective, and there are problems such as the inevitable accumulation of acetaldehyde , a harmful substance produced by the metabolism of alcohol.
In a paper published in the academic journal Nature Nanotechnology on May 13, 2024, a research team led by Professor Raffaele Metzenga of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich announced a protein gel that breaks down alcohol in the gastrointestinal tract when ingested orally.
The main component of this gel is whey protein, which is used in general protein drinks, to which iron and gold particles have been added. When whey protein is heated for a long time and salt and water are added, it gels and becomes difficult to digest, but when iron is added as a catalyst, the alcohol reacts with the iron and is converted into acetic acid. This reaction has been considered inefficient because it is very slow, but the research team has achieved efficient alcohol decomposition by adopting a method in which iron atoms are bonded to protein fibrils (fibers) rather than iron nanoparticles.
In addition, this reaction requires a small amount of hydrogen peroxide, but by adding gold, a precious metal that is not digested, the glucose and gold nanoparticles react to produce hydrogen peroxide.
When the research team tested the gel on mice, they found that the blood alcohol concentration of the mice was reduced by 40% 30 minutes after drinking alcohol, and 5 hours later, the alcohol concentration was 56% lower than that of the control group. Of particular importance, the accumulation of the harmful substance acetaldehyde was suppressed in the mice that were given the gel, and blood tests showed a significant reduction in the liver's stress response. In addition, in an experiment in which the mice were given alcohol and gel every day for 10 days, there was less damage not only to the liver but also to the intestines and spleen, demonstrating the continued therapeutic effect.
Below is a schematic diagram of how the gel works. When alcohol and the gel are consumed at the same time, the alcohol is converted directly into acetic acid in the stomach and intestines, but when the alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream and broken down in the liver, acetaldehyde, the cause of a hangover, is produced.
'While it is healthier to avoid alcohol altogether, this gel may be of particular interest to people who don't want to abstain completely but don't want to put a strain on their body, or who aren't actively seeking the benefits of alcohol,' Metzenga said.
The team has already applied for a patent for the gel, and while it still needs to go through several clinical trials before it can be approved for human use, they're confident it's only a matter of time, as the gel's main component, whey protein fibrils, are already approved as a food.
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