Edible gel prevents and treats alcohol intoxication in mice
Mice given unlimited access to alcohol recovered faster after consuming a gel based on a milk protein, with the same treatment also preventing intoxication in another group of mice. If proved safe and effective in humans, it could offer a quick way to sober up
By Chen Ly
13 May 2024
A transmission electron micrograph of beta-lactoglobulin, the main whey protein in cow’s milk, which was used to make the gel
SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
A gel based on a milk protein drastically reduced the level of alcohol in the blood of intoxicated mice. With further research, it could one day be used to tackle the harmful effects of excessive alcohol consumption in people, or even prevent drunkenness in the first place.
There are some treatments for severe intoxication, such as injecting certain enzymes, but they are often invasive, says Raffaele Mezzenga at ETH Zurich in Switzerland.
To provide an alternative approach, Mezzenga and his colleagues developed an ingestible gel that can both prevent intoxication and treat its negative effects.
Advertisement
Read more
The ultimate guide to hydration and what you really should be drinking
The team combined nanofibres made of a whey protein called beta-lactoglobulin, a byproduct of cheese-making, with iron particles. This created a gel that mimics the structure of an enzyme that causes the body to break down alcohol into acetic acid, which plays an important role in the metabolism of fat and carbohydrates, rather than the more toxic chemical acetaldehyde, which can trigger negative health outcomes.
A group of mice were offered unlimited access to ethanol, the type of alcohol used in drinks, for 10 days. When the researchers then gave the mice the gel, their blood alcohol levels fell by just over 55 per cent after 4 hours. This is a much quicker reduction than was observed in another group of intoxicated mice that weren’t given the gel, says Mezzenga. Acetaldehyde levels also drastically declined in the first group after these mice ate the gel.
