Alcohol

About: Alcohol is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 22392 publications have been published within this topic receiving 295473 citations.

Overview: how is alcohol metabolized by the body?

Abstract: Alcohol is eliminated from the body by various metabolic mechanisms. The primary enzymes involved are aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), cytochrome P450 (CYP2E1), and catalase. Variations in the genes for these enzymes have been found to influence alcohol consumption, alcohol-related tissue damage, and alcohol dependence. The consequences of alcohol metabolism include oxygen deficits (i.e., hypoxia) in the liver; interaction between alcohol metabolism byproducts and other cell components, resulting in the formation of harmful compounds (i.e., adducts); formation of highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules (i.e., reactive oxygen species [ROS]) that can damage other cell components; changes in the ratio of NADH to NAD + (i.e., the cell’s redox state); tissue

3 Alcohol Dehydrogenases

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter describes the advances with an emphasis on the structures of the alcohol dehydrogenases and the relationship between structure and function Yeast and mammalian alcohol dehydrogenase differ in substrate specificity and rate of catalytic activity The classic yeast enzyme is more specific for acetaldehyde and ethanol, which is consistent with its recognized physiological Significance to participate in alcohol fermentation at the end of the glycolytic pathway Enzyme forms with other functions and properties also occur in yeast The mammalian enzymes have broad substrate specificity and, even with primary alcohols, the maximum activity is not observed with ethanol Alcohols including ethanol, produced in the intestinal tracts mainly by bacterial actions, are found in the portal vein One physiological function of liver alcohol dehydrogenase may be to metabolize these products Structural studies have established that mammalian alcohol dehydrogenases have a distant evolutionary link to both the yeast and bacterial enzymes Ingested alcohol is metabolized to acetaldehyde mainly by the action of liver alcohol dehydrogenase

Electrocatalytic oxidation of aliphatic alcohols: Application to the direct alcohol fuel cell (DAFC)

Abstract: The electrooxidation of some low molecular weight alcohols, such as ethanol, ethylene glycol and n-propanol, is discussed in terms of reaction mechanisms and catalytic activity of the anode material Some examples of a single cell, using a proton exchange membrane (PEM) as electrolyte, are given to illustrate interesting results, particularly for the direct electrooxidation of ethanol This alcohol may replace methanol in a direct alcohol fuel cell

Electron-transfer reaction of cinnamic acids and their methyl esters with the DPPH(*) radical in alcoholic solutions.

Abstract: The kinetic behavior of cinnamic acids, their methyl esters, and two catechols 1−10 (ArOH) in the reaction with DPPH• in methanol and ethanol is not compatible with a reaction mechanism that involv...

The Give and Take of Alcohol Activation

Abstract: Alcohols are relatively common starting materials for chemical reactions, even though they are quite unreactive. For example, reactions that would substitute another functional group (a nucleophile) for OH often fail because the hydroxide group (HO−) is difficult to displace—it is a poor leaving group. Alcohols are usually activated by turning the hydroxide into a better leaving group, either by protonating the alcohol or by converting it into a sulfonate or halide. However, both of these activation methods have some disadvantages ( 1 ). The acidic environment required for protonating the alcohol also protonates and deactivates the incoming nucleophile, especially amines. Conversion of the alcohol into a sulfonate or halide can lead to toxicity problems; many alkyl halides and alkyl sulfonates are mutagenic.