Pharmacological Effect in different concentrations of alcohol in blood

1. SOMRAS AND ITS
INTOXICATION: AN OVERVIEW
GUIDE: Prof. Shyamshree
S.S. Manna
By Soutik Dutta
Dr B.C Roy College Of Pharmacy &
AHS
A Report On
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2. Introduction
 ‘Somras’ is a Sanskrit
word which generally
use in Vedic time,
now popularly known
as Alcohol.
 A natural substance
formed by reaction
of fermenting sugar
with yeast spore.
The liquor is
manufactured by the
fermentation process in
which carbohydrates are
fermented in presence of
enzymes as per their
specifications given in
Bureau of Indian
Standards
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3. Alcohol Metabolism
ALCOHOL
Alchol
Dehydrogenase
NAD+ NADH
ACETALDEHYDE
Rate-Limiting Step
ACETATE
Alchol
Dehydrogenase
NAD+
NADH
ACETYL CoA
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4. Pharmacological
Actions
CNS CVS
GIT KIDNEY
Inhibit GI secretion,
pylorospasm,
gastritis, vomiting,
reflux
increased water
ingestion and
inhibition of ADH,
Relaxation of
uterine muscles,
Aphrodisiac
Impaired
performance,
slowing of
reflexes and fine
discrimination
impaired
cutaneous
vasodilatation,
tachycardia and
mild rise in BP,
Increases HDL-
cholesterol level,
Decrease in LDL
oxidation.
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5. ABOUT BAC
Blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) are most commonly used to assess the degree of
alcohol intoxication
The alcohol concentration in a body tissue or fluid is generally proportional to the
water content of that tissue or fluid.
Factors that impact BAC
Number
of
standard
drinks Amount of
time in
which
drinks are
consumed
Body
weight
Water
composition
Sex
Food
Medications
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The degree of intoxication is measured by a blood alcohol level, and the legal limit is
0.08 gram%

6. EFFECT ON CNS
In respect to plasma concentration of alcohol
Anxiolytic, Euphoria
and Excitation,
Hesitation, Reduce
Judgement and Self
Control, Impairment
of Balance, Speech,
and Vision
Impaired Vision,
Hearing and
Reaction time,
Slurred speech,
Ataxia,
Sloppy,
Ataxia, Loss
of
Judgement,
Nausea and
Vomiting,
Possible Black
Out
Alcohol
Poisoning,
Stupor, Loss of
Consciousness,
Onset of Coma
and Possible
Death.
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7. Measurement of Blood Alcohol Concentration
There are two ways of measuring BAC (1) invasively by drawing a blood sample, and (2) non-
invasively via breath, salvia, or urine samples.
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Invasively Method:
 Blood Sample + 3% Perchloric Acid – Precipitated.
 Then serum is collected by centrifugation of precipitated sample.
 Then sample were incubated in 3 ml of 0.5 mol/L tris-buffer containing alcohol dehydrogenase
and beta NAD for 40 min at room temperature.
 Then Accumalation of Beta-NADH was measured by reading sample absorbance at 340 nm.

8. Principal Of Breath Analyzers
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 Breath testing furnishes an alternative and indirect way to monitor the concentrations of AcH in pulmonary
blood.
 Volatile substances in the pulmonary blood, such as ethanol and acetaldehyde, diffuse across the alveolar-
capillary membrane and are exhaled with the breath.
 Breath-tests for acetaldehyde were therefore considered a more practical and convenient test for clinical
purposes because of the non-invasive sampling technique.
 The plasma/air partition ratio of acetaldehyde at 34°C is about 190:1 compared with 2100:1 for ethanol.
Unfortunately, interpreting results of breath-tests for acetaldehyde is also problematic because of the
possibility of this compound being formed locally within the upper-airway and the mouth by micro-
organisms.
 Acetaldehyde, which is the primary oxidative metabolite of ethanol, is not easy to analyze in blood samples
because of the simultaneous presence of ethanol. A small fraction of ethanol undergoes oxidation to
acetaldehyde in-vitro after sampling the blood. Therefore the red cells removed immediately after sampling
blood,by protein precipitation to minimize this spontaneous formation of acetaldehyde.

9. Conclusion
Research has established that the effect of alcohol on the human depends on the blood alcohol concentration.
At a very low blood alcohol level people usually feel relaxation and mild euphoria and some loss of inhibition or
shyness.
However, at blood alcohol levels that exceed 0.08%, significant impairment of motor skills may occur. At a blood
alcohol level of 0.3% and higher, complete loss of consciousness may occur and a blood alcohol level of 0.5% and
higher may even cause death.
Drinking excessive alcohol in one occasion may cause alcohol poisoning which if not treated promptly may be
fatal
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10. Reference
 Moon, M. K., Subramaniyam, M., & Park, S. J. 2013. Older Driv-ers' Physiological Responses during Last-
Minute Braking in a Driv-ing Simulator (No. 2013-01-1245). SAE Technical Paper.
 Smiley, A. M.1986. Marijuana: On-road and driving simulator studies. Alcohol, Drugs and Driving. 2 (3-4): 121-
134
 Li, Y D. Xie, G. Nie, and J. Zhang. 2012. The drink driving situation in China. Traffic Injury Prevention,
13(2): 101–108, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2011.637097.
 Road traffic accidents in Korea. 2012. Korea Road Traffic Authori-ty (KoROAD), 1-98.
 Lal, S. K., & Craig, A. 2002. Driver fatigue: electroencephalog-raphy and psychological assessment.
Psychophysiology. 39(3): 313-321. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0048577201393095.
 Park, S. J., Subramaniyam, M., Moon, M. K., & Kim, D. G. 2013. Physiological evaluation of older drivers
emotional states while driving with and without navigation in a driving simulator. SAE World Congress &
Exhibition, Detroit, USA.
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