If you like to drink with friends occasionally, but don’t want to get drunk, then invented According to Swiss scientists, the gel could become a real salvation. This remedy prevents alcohol from entering the bloodstream and damaging the liver. However, it has only been tested on mice so far.
Alcohol typically enters the bloodstream through the mucous membranes lining the walls of the stomach and intestines. Once in the liver, alcohol is converted first into toxic acetaldehyde, and then into relatively harmless acetic acid. Acetaldehyde can cause damage to both the liver and other organs. And if you drink a lot of alcohol in a short time, the liver may not have time to process the toxic compound into acetic acid, and this leads to intoxication.
This is where an experimental gel invented by Swiss researchers comes in handy. It consists of glucose, gold nanoparticles and protein nanofibers coated with iron atoms. It can be taken before, during, or immediately after drinking alcohol. The gel itself remains in the gastrointestinal tract long enough to do its job.
A chemical reaction is started in the stomach with the formation of hydrogen peroxide, which initiates enzymatic processes. And any alcohol that comes into contact with the resulting compounds is converted directly to acetic acid. Alcohol does not even have time to get into the blood and liver.
In tests on mice, animals were given a dose of alcohol and then given a gel. Within 30 minutes, the mice’s blood alcohol levels dropped by 40 percent compared to the control group, and after five hours, this figure had improved by another 56 percent. There was also much less acetaldehyde in their bodies, and their liver experienced significantly less stress.
Now the creators of the gel plan to test it on people. They emphasize that the only way to completely protect the liver from the consequences of drinking alcohol is to completely abstain from it. But if the gel hits the market, it could become a salvation for those who are not ready to give up alcohol.
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