THE EFFECT OF GLUCOSE ON THE METABOLISM OF ETHYL ALCOHOL IN MAN

¹ From the Nutrition Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Boston, Massachusetts

The amount of alcohol in the expired air and the respiratory exchange for three hours or three and three-quarters hours were measured after the ingestion of 10, 15, and 20 cc. of alcohol alone and after the ingestion of the same amounts of alcohol with the additions of 31, 46.5, and 62 grams of glucose for the three quantities of alcohol respectively. Alcohol was also determined in the urines for the duration of the experiment or for the period of time immediately following the ingestion of alcohol. The lowest amount per cc. was with 10 cc. of alcohol, namely 0.03 mgm., and the highest was with 20 cc. of alcohol, namely 0.10 mgm. Ingestion of glucose had little effect upon the concentration of alcohol in the urine.

The ingestion of glucose alone caused marked rises in the respiratory quotients, and the ingestion of alcohol alone was followed by falls in the respiratory quotients varying from 0.03 to 0.06. When alcohol and glucose were combined, for the first two hours of the experiments the fall was nearly the same as with alcohol alone, but subsequently there was a rise above the pre-ingestion value, indicating that the effect of alcohol ingestion had passed and the influence of the ingestion of glucose predominated.

A calculation of the amounts of nutrients metabolized shows that, in general, when alcohol alone or alcohol and glucose were given, there was a marked decrease in the amount of fat metabolized. Alcohol alone produced a small lowering of the metabolism of carbohydrate, but when it was given with glucose there was a tendency for the summation of the effects of the two given separately.

The ingestion of both alcohol and glucose separately produced a rise in the heat production, and when the two were given together there was a summation, at least, in the increase in heat production of the effects of the two given separately. This was particularly true with the 15 cc. of alcohol and 46.5 grams of glucose.

On the assumption that the alcohol was completely burned in three hours, the amount of energy furnished by the alcohol was from 25 to 38 per cent of the total, but if the calculation is made on the period of time during which alcohol was found in the expired air, the percentage of heat from alcohol rises to 49 to 75 per cent with 10 cc. and 44 to 75 per cent with 15 cc. of alcohol. The latter finding raises the question as to whether it can be considered if alcohol has disappeared, it is due to actual combustion of alcohol or due to a transformation of alcohol into some other substance.