Human alcohol dehydrogenase ADH2 and ADH3 polymorphisms in ethnic Chinese and Indians of West Malaysia.

Human alcohol dehydrogenase ADH2 and ADH3 were investigated in liver and stomach specimens of Chinese and Indians from West Malaysia. Eight-nine percent of the Chinese carry the atypical ADH2 type, a proportion very similar to that reported in Japanese. However, among 43 Indian specimens there was not a single case of atypical ADH2. In Indians, the gene frequency of ADH13 is 0.64 and of ADH23 0.36, similar to the frequencies in Caucasians, whereas in Chinese, the gene frequency for ADH13 and ADH23 is 0.91 and 0.09, respectively. We also report some unusual enzymatic characteristics in the course of our study.