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Ethanol Oxidation by Human Erythrocytes

Abstract

ANALYTICAL studies, recently reported on the stability of ethanol in stored human blood, unexpectedly showed that human erythrocytes could oxidize ethanol to acetaldehyde1. The mechanism2,3 was linked with the oxyhaemoglobin-methaemoglobin redox system4. I consider here the implications of blood ethanol oxidation in two relevant areas, namely, the stabilization of ethanol in blood samples taken from motorists who fail a breath test and also the possibility of ethanol metabolism by erythrocytes in vivo.

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SMALLDON, K. Ethanol Oxidation by Human Erythrocytes. Nature 245, 266–267 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/245266a0

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