Got a hangover? Scientists think they’ve found a cure for painful hangovers and accompanying headaches, fatigue, and nausea.
Consuming alcohol excessively can result in unpleasant hangovers that cause headaches, fatigue, and nausea. Moreover, drinking alcohol has been associated with numerous health issues such as heart disease, cirrhosis, and weakened immune system.
While drinking less is an effective way to prevent such consequences, scientists in China have proposed another solution to combat hangovers and other harmful effects- a genetically modified probiotic.
The researchers detailed their method in a recent publication in Microbiology Spectrum. According to their report, experiments conducted on mice demonstrated that the treatment reduced alcohol absorption, extended alcohol tolerance, and decreased the time it took for the animals to recover from alcohol exposure.
While the genetically-engineered probiotic has not yet been tested on humans, the researchers speculated that if it produces similar outcomes, it could introduce a new approach to mitigate alcohol-induced health problems and liver disorders.
Furthermore, Meng Dong, Ph.D, a member of the research team from the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Science, suggested that the clinical applications of the probiotic could extend beyond alcohol-related ailments.
“We believe that genetically engineered probiotics will provide new ideas for the treatment of liver diseases,” she added.
Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), an enzyme, is the primary means by which the human body breaks down alcohol. However, the efficacy of various ADH variants differs.
Some studies suggest that ADH1B, a variant commonly found in East Asian and Polynesian populations, is 100 times more effective than other forms. Past research conducted on mice has revealed that viral vectors modified to express ADH1B can hasten alcohol metabolism.
Nonetheless, this strategy has yet to be verified as safe for human use.
Inspired by these findings, Dong and her team sought a safer method of delivery, concentrating on Lactococcus lactis, a bacterium commonly used in fermentation as a probiotic.
Using molecular cloning, they implanted the gene for human ADH1B into a bacterial plasmid, which they subsequently introduced into a strain of L. lactis.
The probiotic was verified to produce the enzyme in laboratory tests. To ensure the probiotic’s survival against stomach acid, the researchers encapsulated it before subjecting three groups of five mice to different levels of alcohol exposure.
In comparison to untreated mice, those that received the probiotic showed delayed signs of inebriation 20 minutes after alcohol exposure.
For instance, when placed on their backs, the mice were unable to return to their feet. However, after receiving a probiotic that expressed human ADH1B, half of the mice were capable of turning themselves over an hour after alcohol exposure, while a quarter never lost this ability.
Additional investigations revealed that 2 hours following exposure, blood alcohol concentrations in the control group continued to increase, whereas those in the probiotic-treated group had already begun to decline.
Furthermore, the researchers observed that treated mice exhibited lower levels of lipids and triglycerides in their livers, suggesting that the probiotic could mitigate alcohol-related harm to this organ.
According to Dong, the subsequent stage is to probe if the therapeutic impact of the genetically modified probiotic can be extended to humans.
“We are excited about the improvement of recombinant probiotics in acute alcohol-induced liver and intestinal damage,” Dong added.
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