Oxygenated booze helps prevent hangovers

Scientists have discovered a way to alcohol's hangover effect - by adding oxygen.

New research has found that increasing the amount of oxygen dissolved in alcohol, helps reduce hangover symptoms and also helps you sober up faster.

In the study, 49 South Korean volunteers were given drinks containing 19.5% alcohol by volume with different concentrations of dissolved oxygen.

The scientists found that people who consumed the drinks with the highest concentration of dissolved oxygen sobered up 20-30 minutes faster and suffered fewer and less severe hangovers.

In the body, alcohol is broken down by enzymes such as alcohol dehdrogenase and aldehyde dehdrogenase which need oxygen to carry out the chemical reaction. Adding oxygen to the alcohol thus helps to speed up alcohol metabolism, said the researchers.

"The oxygen-enriched alcohol beverage reduces plasma alcohol concentrations faster than a normal dissolved-oxygen alcohol beverage does," said study co-author Dr Kwang-il Kwon from Gwang Jeong of Chungnam National University.

"This could provide both clinical and real-life significance. The oxygen-enriched alcohol beverage would allow individuals to become sober faster, and reduce the side effects of acetaldehyde without a significant difference in alcohol's effects.

"Furthermore, the reduced time to a lower blood alcohol concentrations may reduce alcohol-related accidents."

This article was published on Fri 5 March 2010