Alcohol
• Only substance that is a nutrient and a drug
affecting brain function
• There are many alcohols but the one used in
parties, pubs and bars“alcohol” is used to mean
ethyl alcohol or ethanol.beer- first drunk by the
Sumerians and Babylonians around 4000BC
• Wine is mentioned in the old testament
• Brandy and whishey first appeared in the 15th
century.
Production of alcoholic beverages
• Produced by alcohol fermentation of glucose
• Specific enzymes are provided by certain yeqast,
saccharomyces which are unicellular fungi.
• The biological pathway first follows the 10 usual
steps of anarobic glycolysis to pyruvate as in animal
metabolism
• Yeast contains the enzyme pyruvate decaboxylase
not present in animals
• This converts pyruvate to acetaldehyde then alcohol
dehydrogenase convertys acetaldehyde to ethanol.
Production of alcohol
• The overall reaction
• C6H1206+Cofactors + ATP→2C2H5OH +2 CO2
• Cofactors-NADH, thiamin, pyrophosphate and
magnesium.
• Grapes are unusual among fruits in containing a lot
of sugar nearly all glucose.(16%)
• Alcohol content:
• Beer-5%
• Wine-10%
• Sprits-30%
Alcohol beverages
Contain
• Variable amount of unfermented sugars and
dextrins (in beers)
• Small amounts of alcohol other than ethyl
alcohol(eg propyl alcohol)
• Moderate amounts of potassium, almost no sodium
• Small amounts of riboflavin and niacin but no
thiamin
• Sometimes some vitamin C
• Cont
• A complex array of flavor compounds
• Colors(eg in red wine)
• Phenolic compounds
• A preservative(eg in sodium metabisulphate)
• Additives.
Stage of alcohol intoxication
Blood alcohol stage effects
concentration(g/dl)
Up to 0.05 Feeling of well being Relaxed, talks a lot
0.05-0.08 Risky stage Judgement and finer
movements affected
0.08-0.15 Dangerous stage Slow speech, balance
affected, eyesight blurred,
wants to fall asleep, likely
to vomit, needs help to
walk
0.2-0.4 Drunken stupor Dead drunk, no bladder
control, heavy breathing,
unconscious(ie. Deep
anesthesia)
0.45-0.6 Death Shock and death
Energy value of alcohol
• 7 kcal/g
• In heavy drinkers 10-30% of energy comes from
alcohol, but alcohol beverages contain no protein
and a very few micronutrients.
• This source of nutrients displaces other foods that
normally provide essential nutrients.
• Appetite may be suppressed in heavy drinkers,
eithjer by alcoholic gastritis or by associated
smoking
• Nutrients typically depleted in alcoholics include
thiamin, folate, niacin and several inorganic
nutrients.
Direct consequences of alcohol
1. Acute intoxication
2. Hangovers
3. Chronic alcoholism
4. Delirium treatment or alcohol withdrawal
syndrome
5. Binge drinkers
Medical consequence of excess
consumption
• Alcohol causes 3 types of liver damage
Fatty liver
• This is least severe
• Metabolism of large amounts of ethanol in the
liver produce an increase ratio of NADH/NAD
– This depresses the citric acid cycle and
oxidation of fatty acid and favours triglyceride
synthesis in the liver cells.
Alcohol hepatitis( inflammation of the liver)
• This is more serious
• This type is not caused by a virus but by prolonged
excess alcohol intake.
• There is loss of appetite, fevers, tender liver,
jaundice
• And elevation in the plasma of enzymes produced
in the livereg aminotransferase (transaminases),
glutamyl transpeptidase abd alkaline phosphate)
Alcoholic Cirrhosis
• May be associated with chronic alcoholism
• When the liver has to metabolise large amounts of
alcohol over a long time, membranes inside the cell
become disordered
• Amount of alcohol to cause liver cirrhosis is difficult
to establish as most people understate their alcohol
intake esp heavy drinkers
• It is greater than 40g of ethanol in women and
50gin men over years, usually much more.
1. Metabolic effects
2. Fetal alcohol syndrome
3. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
4. Nutritional deficiencies in alcoholic
5. Predisposition to some types of cancer
6. Gastrointestinal complications
7. Hypertension(>3-4 drinks per day)
Different patterns of alcohol
consumption
• The inexperienced drinker(eg an adolescent) who
misjudges the dose and has an accident.
• The person who does not drink during the week but
drinks to excess and gets drunk on payday or Saturday
night.
• The person who enjoys a controlled 1or 2 drinks most
days.
• The person who has too many drinks each day(most
after work) but less maintains their(increasing
inefficient)usual life.
• The person who goes on a binge or bender for weeks
for heavy drinking.
Recognition of the problem drinker
• An alcoholic is a group term for any person whose
drinking is leading to harm(alcohol dependence or
physical disease or social harm)
• Alcohol can be smelt in the breath and detected in
the breath, blood or urine within hours of drinking
If a person has not been recently drinking there are
changes in the blood which are suggestive of long term
excessive alcohol intake:
Increases red blood cell volume(mean corpuscular
volume)
Increased glutamyl transferace(GGT) activity.
Increases plasma(fasting) triglyceride(ie. Very low
density lipoprotein)
Increased plasma urate.
Increased plasma transaminases(amino transferases)
Increased plasma carbohydrate-(deficient transferrin)
These vary in sensitivity and specificity.
Recommended intakes of alcohol
• 1 standard drink= 10g of pure alcohol
• Men (biologically safe level)
• 2-3 standard drinks per day (20-30g)
• i. e. 140-210g alcohol per week
• Women(biologically safe level)
• 1-2 standard drinks (10-20g) per day
• Ie. 70-140g alcohol per week
• Intake should be one standard drink or less in
pregnancy or in the case of suspected pregnancy
Tutorial
1. Explain the metabolism of alcohol in the body.
2. What is a breathalyzer and what level of alcohol
can be detected be this in Fiji?
3. What are the nutrients present in alcohol?
4. How does alcohol affect the brain?
5. Explain the association of alcohol with liver
disease.