Yunfeng Lu, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, and his colleagues, describe successfully placing two complementary enzymes in a tiny capsule to speed up the elimination of alcohol from the body.
The enzyme combination within the capsule essentially processes alcohol the way the liver does.
Lu, the principal investigator, said the enzyme combination could be ingested as a pill, chemically altering alcohol in the digestive system, even as the liver does its work.
“The pill acts in a way extremely similar to the way your liver does,” Lu said. “With further research, this discovery could be used as a preventative measure or antidote for alcohol intoxication.”
Naturally occurring enzymes within cells often work in tandem to transform molecules or eliminate toxins. Lu’s group assembled multiple enzymes to mimic the natural process.
An enzyme known as an alcohol oxidase, for example, can promote the oxidisation of alcohol but also produces hydrogen peroxide, which is toxic.
Another type of enzyme, a catalase, prompts the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. Placing the two enzymes next to each other can effectively remove alcohol.
This is an amazing piece of scientific research that will certainly get people excited about the prospect of eliminating hangovers from their busy working lives. One issue: surely this opens up the floodgates to a carefree attitude to binge drinking? This pill suggests you can go out and have a good old knees-up, pop a pill and be in tip top condition for the office the very next morning. Or does it?
On the other hand, the scientists suggest that taking the pill ultimately has the affect of increasing the amount of metabolising cells in the liver, so perhaps it can just be seen as a helping hand for a liver inundated with booze.
It would “almost be like having millions of liver cell units inside your stomach or in your intestine, helping you to digest alcohol,” said Lu.
This is certainly a development to keep an eye on and I will be interested to see how it is marketed, should it get to market at all. Will it be seen as a pharmaceutical tool to help heavy drinkers prevent alcohol-related illnesses, or a partner in crime for party revellers and functioning alcoholics looking for a quick fix?
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