Do you know that when you take alcohol inside your body it becomes a chemical compound similar to formalin? Formalin is the substance used in embalming. Yikes! And then, it becomes a substance that is responsible for the acidity and unpleasant smell of vinegar. How does this happen?
When you take beer for example, which is approximately 5% ethanol, the alcohol is first converted to acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is a substance similar to formalin in a way that they have the same functional group – they are both aldehydes. The conversion of ethanol to acetaldehyde is shown by the equation below.
ADH1B
CH3CH2OH ------------------------> CH3CHO
Acetaldehyde is an unstable compound that can become harmful if not stabilized by antioxidants such as vitamins C and E. Because of its wavering structure, acetaldehyde must be turned into a substance with a more stable structure. And so, aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) helps the acetaldehyde become acetic acid. Acetic acid now is a less harmful substance. It is the main component of vinegar. The transformation of acetaldehyde into acetic acid is shown by the equation:
ALDH2
CH3CHO-------------------------> CH3COOH
It is still not normal however to have a large amount of acetic acid inside your gut. Luckily our body has troubleshooters that would bring acetic acid to the normal course of the cell cycle. Acetic acid is converted to acetyl-CoA by the enzyme ACSS2. It has now been transformed into its safest form and acetyl-CoA which is a precursor of the body’s normal activities now joins the citric acid cycle or the Kreb’s cycle and later become energy released from each cycle in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
CH3COOH -----> Acetyl-CoA -> -> -> energy!!!!!
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