[Metabolism of ethyl alcohol in the human body].

More than 90% of ingested ethanol is metabolized in the body to acetaldehyde and acetate. Ethanol is metabolized in the liver via three distinct enzymatic pathways: alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), the microsomal ethanol oxidizing system (MEOS) and catalase. It is generally accepted that alcohol dehydrogenase is the predominant pathway for hepatic ethanol oxidation. Acetaldehyde is metabolized to acetate by a group of dehydrogenase enzymes called aldehyde dehydrogenase.