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From: jbray@bbncca.ARPA (James Bray)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: Formaldehyde in beer
Message-ID: <305@bbncca.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 11-Nov-83 11:58:44 EST
Article-I.D.: bbncca.305
Posted: Fri Nov 11 11:58:44 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Nov-83 20:56:10 EST
References: <1996@gatech.UUCP> <516@ariel.UUCP>
Organization: Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Cambridge, Ma.
Lines: 16

Aldehydes -I seem to remember paraldehyde for some reason, but it could
be others- are produced as intermediate breakdown products in the metabolization
of alcohol. This takes place I believe in the liver, and under ordinary
circumstances the enzyme pathways act like a unix pipe and these intermediate
products are immediately converted. This can be interrupted by the drug
Antabusin, whose chemical name I forget, which is I think a sulfer-containing
compound that works by chelating the active copper? atom in the enzyme that
eats the aldehyde, thus causing the stuff to just start floating around making
you deathly ill (disulfiran?). But this does not ordinarily happen.
  People used to say that Boone's Farm wine had formaldehyde in it, and I wouldn't
doubt it. I once found some stuff we called the Captain that had a picture
of this really old-looking guy on it (the Captain) -crosslinked all to hell
no doubt- and one glass of this stuff would give you a hangover without getting
you drunk. No doubt a WCTU plot. I'd love to know what was in that stuff.

--jim Bray	UUCP decvax!bbncca!jbray, Arpa jbray@bbncca