title: Urinary excretion and serum concentration of mevalonic acid during acute intake of alcohol.
abstract: The influence of 2 different alcoholic beverages containing an equal amount of alcohol (48 g), 1 with mevalonic acid (beer) and 1 without (vodka), on the urinary excretion and serum concentration of mevalonic acid was investigated in 7 healthy subjects. Drinking 1 L of beer at night containing 608 microg/L mevalonic acid more than doubled the urinary excretion of mevalonic acid the following 12 hours, on average from 103 +/- 15 microg/12 h to 211 +/- 17 microg/12 h (P < .001; 18% of the administered dose). Drinking the same amount of alcohol as vodka had no effect, but urinary mevalonic acid output increased slightly the following day (7 AM to 7 PM) after ingestion of both alcoholic beverages. Serum concentrations of mevalonic acid were significantly increased the following morning after ingestion of beer (from 3.22 +/- 0.20 ng/mL to 6.79 +/- 0.58 ng/mL) or vodka (from 3.23 +/- 0.37 ng/mL to 5.36 +/- 0.55 ng/mL, P < .002 for both). An increase in the ratio of lathosterol to cholesterol in serum, another indicator of 3beta-hydroxy-3beta-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity in the liver, was also observed (+18% and +25%, respectively). After oral administration of [13C2] mevalonic acid at night, 20% +/- 0.7% of the dose was excreted in urine the following 12 hours, and only trace amounts thereafter. No [13C2] mevalonic acid could be detected in serum the following morning. We conclude that the absorption of dietary mevalonic acid and alcohol-induced mevalonic acid synthesis affects the urinary excretion and serum concentration of this cholesterol precursor. Therefore, studies using mevalonic acid as a marker of cholesterol synthesis must be carefully monitored regarding dietary mevalonic acid intake and alcohol consumption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lindenthal
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: von Bergmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000652:urine; D001515:Beer; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007810:Lanosterol / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008798:Mevalonic Acid / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000652:urine; D014920:Wine
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D007810:Lanosterol; D002784:Cholesterol; D008798:Mevalonic Acid