Search

A recently developed three-compartment model for the absorption and elimination of ingested alcohol was applied to re-analyse a study on the effects of various factors known to influence the blood-alcohol curve. The absorption and elimination of alcohol after drinking diluted alcohol were studied in healthy volunteers under strictly standardized conditions. The factors studied were sex, dose, concentration, physical exercise, meal consumption before drinking, energy content and composition of the meal, and time of drinking in relation to meal consumption. Gastric emptying and absorption from the small intestine were assumed to be first-order, and a possible delay (or acceleration) of gastric emptying was accounted for by a feedback-control parameter. The elimination process was assumed to follow Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Clear effects were observed of sex and dose, and aspects of meal consumption on absorption and elimination of alcohol. The ingestion of a meal prior to the intake of alcohol reduced both the gastric emptying rate and absorption efficiency of alcohol, increased the gastric emptying delay and reduced the rate of elimination. The absorption efficiency was even lower when the alcohol was consumed during the meal instead of after the meal. Using alcohol during the meal accelerated gastric emptying and reduced absorption efficiency as well as rate of elimination. High-fat meals resulted in the highest gastric emptying rate and rate of absorption from the small intestine, whereas high-protein and high-sucrose meals resulted in the lowest gastric emptying rate. Simultaneous consumption of a high-sucrose meal and alcohol increased gastric emptying delay.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

To investigate the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on blood constituents related to cardiovascular disease, 12 male volunteers consumed (instead of their usual alcoholic drinks) four different standardized amounts of red wine in addition to their habitual diet. Each dose was given to the subjects during a period of 5 weeks in a randomized order, all subjects receiving the four doses. They consisted of 0, 2, and 4 glasses/d, providing 0, 23, and 46 g alcohol/d as well as in "binge drinking" (14 glasses in the weekend, comparable to an average of 2 glasses/d). The results showed a clear dose-related response to the drinking for several blood constituents. Most marked was a decrease in the tissue-type plasminogen activator activity and to a lesser degree an increase in plasminogen levels. Collagen-induced platelet aggregation was reduced, affecting all parameters measured. Levels of HDL3-cholesterol, gammaglutamyltransferase, and urate showed a small but significant increase. No change was noted in the levels of alkaline phosphatase, alanine-aminotransferase, aspartate-aminotransferase, bile acids, folate, fibrinogen, the ADP-induced platelet aggregation, platelet secretion, or in hematologic values. The results are only partially in accordance with the presumed protective action of moderate drinking on the cardiovascular system and show a stronger response to the consumption of alcohol in coagulation and fibrinolysis factors than in blood lipids.