Vita gazette – Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a protein-based gel that breaks down alcohol in the gastrointestinal tract without harming the body. In the future, people who take the gel could reduce the harmful and intoxicating effects of alcohol.

Swiss scientists have developed a gel that converts alcohol into harmless acetic acid. This innovative gel alleviates the harmful effects of alcohol on the body and the health problems it causes. Scientists working at ETH Zurich, one of Switzerland’s leading universities, announced that they have developed a treatment to prevent the adverse effects of alcohol. When the researchers applied the protein gel they developed to mice, they discovered that the alcohol turned into harmless acetic acid before entering the bloodstream. This transformation prevents the harmful effects that alcohol causes typically from occurring.

“This gel shifts the breakdown of alcohol from the liver to the digestive system. When alcohol is metabolised in the liver, harmful acetaldehyde is not produced,” explained study co-author Professor Raffaele Mezzenga from ETH Zurich University. Acetaldehyde is known as a toxic substance that causes many health problems and hangovers caused by excessive alcohol consumption.

According to research published in Nature Nanotechnology, this gel was tested on mice and reduced alcohol levels by 40 per cent thirty minutes after a single alcohol intake. In mice treated regularly with alcohol and gel, weight loss and liver damage were significantly reduced.

According to the World Health Organization, approximately three million people die every year from excessive alcohol consumption. This number could be significantly reduced when this gel is available to the public. Researchers note that this new treatment must undergo several clinical tests before being approved for human use. However, the team is confident that the gel will succeed, especially since they have proven that the whey protein fibres that make up the gel are edible.

Finally, since this gel prevents alcohol from entering the bloodstream, it is a matter of curiosity whether it will eliminate the feeling of intoxication in people. This may also have an impact on the sense of intoxication, which is considered an indispensable side effect of alcohol consumption.

It is stated that in the future, people will be able to use this gel before or during alcohol consumption to prevent blood alcohol levels from rising and to prevent acetaldehyde from harming the body. ETH Zurich’s Dr. “Unlike many existing products on the market, this gel combats not only the symptoms of harmful alcohol consumption but also its causes,” said Christoph Elhardt.

However, researchers emphasise that the gel is only effective if alcohol is present in the gastrointestinal tract. This means it may have limited effect against alcohol poisoning once alcohol enters the bloodstream.