Description
Background/Introduction: In mammals, ethanol is metabolized mainly in the liver by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), which oxidizes ethanol to acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde, a toxic metabolite responsible for the miserable effects of hangovers, is further oxidized to acetate by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). ALDH belongs to a large family of aldehyde dehydrogenases that can be found in many tissues of the body, but are at the highest concentrations in the liver. In this assay, acetaldehyde is oxidized by ALDH generating NADH which then reduces a colorless probe to a colored product with strong absorbance at 340 nm. The intensity of the color formed is increased in the presence of increased ALDH activity