Ever woken up after a big night and felt like this?
Well, let’s pour a glass and celebrate because, if modern science has anything to do with it, hangovers could soon be a thing of the past.
Researchers from the University of California have developed a hangover antidote that could banish your symptoms in just four hours.
The pill, which is currently in production, contains natural enzymes typically found in the liver, and these enzymes help the body to process alcohol faster. To test the pill, nanocapsules were injected into the veins of drunk mice (don’t ask us how they got drunk…) and acted as mini reactors in the liver, breaking down and digesting the alcohol in their systems.
Put the sunnies away, we may have a miracle hangover cure!
Writing for The Conversation, lead researcher Professor Yunfeng Lu says that the drunk mice that received the treatment had a 45 per cent lower blood alcohol level in just four hours.
“Meanwhile the blood concentration of acetaldehyde – a highly toxic compound that is carcinogenic, causes headaches and vomiting, makes people blush after drinking, and is produced during the normal alcohol metabolism – remained extremely low. The animals given the drug woke from their alcohol-induced slumber faster than their untreated counterparts – something all college students would appreciate,” says Professor Lu.
Sounds pretty good! But seeing as the pill is still in development and is currently being checked to see if there are any nasty side effects, it won’t be available for human use just yet.
In the meantime, try these hangover cures if you’re on Struggle Street.
