'No-hangover' gel protects organs but doesn't let you get high either. Would you take it?

Scientists might be on their way to creating a pill that not only prevents hangovers but also keeps at bay the harmful effects of alcohol. A gel swallowed 30 minutes before the first drink can stop you from getting drunk and also safeguard your liver and other organs.

A report by Daily Mail says that the gel has been developed by researchers at ETH University in Zurich, Switzerland. It breaks down alcohol into a harmless liquid as it passes through the gastrointestinal tract.

Alcohol is absorbed by the mucous membrane lining the stomach and intestine, from where blood takes it to other parts of the body, such as the liver, brain and kidneys. As it affects the brain, feel-good hormones are released. But as we drink more, it starts suppressing the central nervous system. 

The liver converts the ethanol in alcohol into another form of alcohol called acetaldehyde, which is primarily responsible for headaches, dehydration and other symptoms linked to hangovers. Later it is converted into acetic acid which is flushed out through the kidneys. 

The gel acts right in the stomach, absorbing the alcohol before it can enter the bloodstream. It converts it into acetic acid which then passes through the stomach or intestine and into our circulation. In the absence of the toxic substances, the alcohol doesn't get you "high", this also prevents a hangover.

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The study on alcohol and hangover

Scientists conducted a study to understand the effect of certain ingredients on alcohol and published the results in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

They took iron, glucose and gold which they say was found to quickly break down alcohol into acetic acid, and mixed it with a gel made from whey protein. The gel was then fed to eight mice who were then given alcohol 20 minutes later. They found that the blood alcohol level of mice who were fed the gel was almost half that of the other group.

After six hours, all the mice were put inside a maze and had to find their way out. Those who had been fed the gel found the exit much faster.

Other tests showed that alcohol had not affected the liver of the gel-fed mice, while the mice in the other group had inflamed livers. 

The team is preparing to test the gel on humans.

However, if the gel restricts the pleasure associated with alcohol, would it attract the attention of people?

Scientists say the real benefit of the gel might be for people who are unable to cut back on alcohol. It can help reduce intoxication and alcohol-related damage for them.

"The obvious alternative is just to drink less or not at all," says David Nutt, a professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London.

"But for everyone else it doesn’t make economic sense, as there would be the cost of the gel plus paying for the “wasted” alcohol."

He added that "similar alcohol-cancelling products have been tried in the past" but had no success. 

A Swedish firm had launched a probiotic in 2022 called Myrkl, marketed as a "pre-drinking pill". It was to be taken an hour before drinking. The company claimed that two tablets, costing $1.28 each, can cut down the amount of alcohol that enters the bloodstream by about 70 per cent.

However, just one study was conducted on humans, and so the efficacy of the pill is not fully clear.