Human Body as an Efficient Chemical Reactor: Modelling the Long Term Phospatidylethanol 16:0/18:1 and 16:0/18:2 Peth Concentrations in Population

The purpose of this modelling work was to demonstrate that the longer-term levels of the two homologues of phosphatidylethanol (PEth), an abnormal fatty acid synthesized only in the presence of ethanol in human body, display significant inter-individual differences between subjects with similar consumption habits or similar consumption amounts. Very significant differences can be observed when following the PEth levels reached after prolonged observation periods. Further, it was found that the PEth levels “sky-rocket” once a person gets more and more intoxicated, i.e. the higher the alcohol level in blood, the more pronounced the PEth formation. We reviewed the existing scientific literature on the topic in order to identify as accurate as possible kinetic data on both the formation and degradation of PEth in humans and set up a model comprising plausible alcohol blood concentration vs. the resulting PEth concentration data. With the help of non-linear regression analysis, the long-term PEth values were simulated for a number of representative cases reflecting plausible real-life alcohol consumption habits. The conclusion is unequivocal: PEth values cannot be used to determine the longer-term absolute alcohol intake for an individual or used as a comparison measure between different individuals. Moreover, the claim that the individual PEth values could be used as the “true indicator” of a specific amount of alcohol consumption is erroneous. Generally, in case of any equilibrium reactions, common industrially applied concepts to maximize the product yield are operational in human body when PEth is formed, particularly at higher intoxication levels (i.e. party behavior).