Non-uniformity of blood ethanol elimination: its exaggeration after chronic consumption.
In baboons blood ethanol disappearance was 11.6% faster at high ethanol (HE) concentrations (45-20 mM) than at low ethanol concentrations (LE) (15-5 mM). The feeding of alcohol in a liquid diet for three months or up to five years augmented the difference between HE and LE to 14 and 28.6% respectively. These results were confirmed in a preliminary experiment with a human volunteer given ethanol for four weeks under metabolic ward conditions. The findings are in favour of the existence and induction of a non-ADH high Km pathway for ethanol oxidation. The common medicolegal practice of calculation previous blood-ethanol levels by linear extrapolation should be re-considered.
D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000097:blood*; D000818:Animals; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood*; D000882:Haplorhini; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008862:Microsomes, Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010215:Papio; D013997:Time Factors
D000431:Ethanol; D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases