[First-pass metabolism of alcohol and its clinical significance].

The metabolism of alcohol also proceeds in other parts of the body as well as the liver. Some part of the alcohol consumed by mouth is metabolized chiefly through the alcohol-dehydrogenase (ADH) activity in the gastric membrane before it is taken up into the bloodstream. This significant first pass-metabolism of alcohol, particularly on a full stomach, protects the organism against high concentrations of alcohol. The first pass-metabolism is lower in women than in men. It is low in alcoholics too, presumably because of alcohol-related damage to the gastric membrane. Several drugs in common use reduce the ADH activity in the gastric membrane, a point it may be well to remember when treating patients who use alcohol.