Transmission electron micrograph of beta-lactoglobulin, the main whey protein found in milk, used to make the gel.
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A milk protein-based gel significantly reduced alcohol levels in the blood of inebriated mice. As research progresses, it could one day be used to help people deal with the negative effects of drinking too much alcohol, or even to prevent drunkenness in the first place.
There are several treatments for severe poisoning, such as injecting certain enzymes, but they are often invasive. Raffaele Mezzenga At ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
To provide an alternative approach, Mezzenga and his colleagues have developed an ingestible gel that can prevent addiction and treat its negative effects.
The researchers combined iron particles with nanofibers made from a whey protein called beta-lactoglobulin, a byproduct of cheese production. This created a gel that mimics the structure of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol into acetic acid in the body, rather than acetaldehyde, a more toxic chemical that can have negative health effects. This acetic acid plays an important role in fat and carbohydrate metabolism. .
A group of mice was given unlimited access to ethanol, a type of alcohol used in beverages, for 10 days. The researchers then administered the gel to mice, which reduced their blood alcohol levels by more than 55% after four hours. This is a much faster decline than was observed in another group of inebriated mice that were not given the gel, Mezzenga says. Acetaldehyde levels were also significantly reduced in the first group after these mice ate the gel.
In another part of the experiment, the research team found that mice that consumed alcohol daily for 10 days and ate the gel over the same period both had much healthier organs than mice that didn't eat alcohol at all. discovered. Their organs were “almost indistinguishable from mice that didn't drink alcohol,” Mezzenga says.
“If you take this gel before drinking alcohol, most of the alcohol you drink will be converted to acetic acid,” he says. “That means no alcohol gets into your bloodstream and you don't suffer from side effects.”
The research team now hopes to test the gel's effectiveness in humans. “I think people who are addicted to alcohol would greatly benefit from this as a treatment,” Mezzenga says. It may also allow people without such addictions to consume alcohol without becoming inebriated, he says.
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Source: www.newscientist.com
