Abstract
Oral administration of ethanol to rats at a dose of 3g/kg decreased alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity and metabolism of lactate to pyruvate in the liver. The effects of water extracts of Aloe and some other herbs on blood ethanol concentration and on ADH activity in liver cytosol were examined. The water extracts of these herbs caused a faster elimination of ethanol from blood or normal rats when administerd orally 30 min before oral administration of ethanol. The rapid elimination of ethanol seems to be due to a protection of ADH activity and the suply of nicotinamide dinucleotide, both of which are reduced by high ethanol concentration. The effects of ethanol in decreasing the enzyme activities relating to its own metabolism occur when high concentrations of ethanol pass through the liver, and thus may primarily appear during the absorption of alcohol from the gastrointestinal tract, when portal concentrations of ethanol are vary high.
