Teddies Talks Biology Issue 2 February 2017

The Asian Flush/Glow

Benjamin Wan - L6th

Approximately 80% of the Asian population suffer from ‘The Asian flush/glow’. The Asian flush does not only occur in Asians but is most prominent in Asians or more specifically Eastern Asians. It is also known as Alcohol Flush syndrome and occurs in people of other ethnicities who cannot metabolise alcohol efficiently. The syndrome is caused by an enzyme deficiency due to a genetic mutation that has been passed down from generation to generation. The symptoms include facial blushing, nausea, fever or increased body temperature, headache, increased heart rate and general feeling of physical discomfort. This is caused by the body not being able to process alcohol efficiently and therefore there is a build-up of acetaldehyde, a carcinogen.

genetic change also reduces how much aldehyde de- hydrogenase enzyme the person has and therefore there is a rapid build-up of acetaldehyde but not enough enzymes to break-down the carcinogen into harmless products. This build-up of acetaldehyde causes dilation of the blood vessels in the face but does also occur over the rest of the body as well. The increased heart rate is a result of the body trying to metabolise the enzyme quickly as acetaldehyde is a carcinogen. As said earlier the Asian flush is due to a build-up of acetaldehyde, which is an animal carcinogen. There- fore Asians who drink a lot of alcohol are putting themselves at more of a risk of oesophageal and/or stomach cancer as well increased risk of peptic ul- cers and gastrointestinal disease. The only real benefit of having the Asian flush is that often they are put off drinking a lot of alcohol or alcohol entirely as some think it is too much to put up with and often due the flush they don’t get the buzz that comes along with alcohol. People have dis- covered certain remedies that have worked. These include anti-heartburn tablets such as Peptic AC and antihistamines such as Zantac. People have also claimed pills called ‘Before Elixir’ have worked as well. ‘Before Elixir’ consists of vitamins, amino ac- ids and plant extracts. Dangers of drinking alcohol with the Asian Flush Benefits of the flush and remedies

How is Alcohol metabolised?

First we must understand how alcohol is metabo- lised. Alcohol is broken down in two steps. Alcohol is broken down by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogen- ase. The alcohol is broken down to acetaldehyde. After this the acetaldehyde is broken down further to acetate by aldehyde dehydrogenase, and eventually the acetate is broken down into carbon dioxide and water. The cause of the Asian flush is due to a genetic change that affects alcohol metabolism. What occurs in Asians is that they normally have a lot of alcohol dehydrogenase and therefore the alcohol is broken down very quickly to acetaldehyde. However, the What causes Asian Flush/Glow?

Issue 2 | February 2017

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