Alteration of Endogenous Catecholamine Metabolism by Ethanol Ingestion. ∗

Abstract

Summary

Ingestion of moderate amounts of ethanol by normal human subjects results in a striking decrease in excretion of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxymandelic acid and a compensatory increase in excretion of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol. These findings are supported by previous studies using C¹⁴-norepinephrine and indicate that ethanol ingestion diverts the intermediate metabolism of both epinephrine and norepinephrine from the normal oxidative route to a reductive pathway.