Maleic acid and succinic acid in fermented alcoholic beverages are the stimulants of gastric acid secretion

Abstract

Only during the last 15 years have systematic and controlled studies on the action of pure ethanol and some commonly ingested alcoholic beverages on gastric acid secretion and release of gastrin in humans been published (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). Pure ethanol in low concentrations (≤4% vol/vol) is a mild stimulant of gastric acid output, whereas at higher concentrations, it has either no effect or a mildly inhibitory one (5). Alcoholic beverages with low ethanol content (beer and wine) are powerful stimulants of gastric acid output and gastrin release; the effect of beer is equal to the maximal acid output (5-8). Beverages with a higher ethanol content (e.g., whisky, gin, cognac) do not stimulate gastric acid output or release of gastrin (5, 7).The ethanol content in beer (4% vol/vol) and wine (10% vol/vol) can be only partially or not at all responsible for the marked gastric acid secretory responses to beer and wine. Thus, nonalcoholic ingredients in beer or wine are most likely responsible for the stimulatory gastric action of these alcoholic beverages. The intensive search for the stimulatory substances in beer has proved that none of the known nonalcoholic stimulants of gastric acid output present in beer either alone or in combination can be implicated (6).In a recent study (7), we reported that alcoholic beverages produced by fermentation (such as beer, wine, champagne, and sherry), but not by distillation (such as whisky, cognac, calvados, armagnac, Bacardi, Pernod, Cointreau, and Campari), are powerful stimulants of gastric acid output and release of gastrin. In addition, we found that the alcoholic beverage constituents that stimulate gastric acid output and release of gastrin are produced during the process of fermentation and removed during the following process of distillation (7).We used yeast-fermented glucose as a simpler model of beer in order to look for the powerful stimulants of gastric acid output produced during the process of alcoholic fermentation (6, 9). Alcoholic fermentation is the catabolism of glucose to pyruvate (e.g., glycolysis) and of pyruvate to ethanol by yeast. Yeast-fermented glucose (11.5% wt/vol) has been shown to mimic the effects of beer on gastric acid output and release of gastrin (6, 9). Whereas beer has a great number of unknown substances, yeastfermented glucose is a relatively pure solution.The aim of the present investigation was to separate and identify the substances in fermented glucose and alcoholic beverages that are responsible for their powerful stimulatory action on gastric acid output and release of gastrin in nonalcoholic healthy humans. Methods SubjectsThirty-five healthy young male (n = 20) and female (n = 15) volunteers (age, 21-37 years; body weight, 50-87 kg) were studied. All subjects were in good health and had a normal physical examination, electrocardiogram, and laboratory tests, including blood count, platelets, prothrombin time, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, γ-glutamyltransferase, amylase, lipase, creatinine, electrolytes...

Alcohol and the digestive system – should it always be blamed?

“…Oczywistą implikacją tej obserwacji jest dąże-nie do zidentyfikowania w napojach alkoholowych związków chemicznych odpowiedzialnych za działanie stymulujące sekrecję w żołądku. Według badaczy niemieckich są to powstające w procesie fermentacji z udziałem drożdży kwasy maleinowy i bursztynowy [60], natomiast badacze japońscy wyodrębnili z piwa N-metylotyraminę, odpowiedzialną za stymulację sekrecji i uwalnianie gastryny [61].…”

Alcohol and Smoking

“…Beginning in the early 1980s and using systematic and controlled examinations on the effect of pure ethanol and commonly ingested alcoholic beverages on gastric acid secretion, Singer and co-workers as well as others [38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46] found that the effect of ethanol and alcoholic beverages on gastric acid secretion in healthy humans is differentiated after all. The effect of pure ethanol is concentration-dependent.…”

“…magnesium, calcium, amines, phenols, amaroids, vitamins, and L -amino acids) were found to be responsible for the stimulatory effect [44]. Teyssen et al [45] have shown that the substances responsible for the maximal gastric acid secretion in fermented beverages are succinic acid and maleic acid, produced during the process of alcoholic fermentation, and that gastrin does not mediate their effect. Alcoholic beverages produced by fermentation followed by distillation, such as most aperitifs and hard liquors, do not stimulate acid secretion [46].…”

Effect of Non-Alcoholic Compounds of Alcoholic Drinks on the Pancreas

“…Therefore, non-alcoholic ingredients in beer and wine are most likely responsible for the stimulatory gastric action of these alcoholic beverages. The search for the stimulatory substances in alcoholic beverages revealed that the powerful stimulants of gastric acid output are the dicarboxylic acids maleic and succinic acid which are produced during the process of alcoholic fermentation [3] . The surprising finding of this investigation was that these dicarboxylic acids do not stimulate gastrin release.…”

“…For example, up to now in beer more than 2000 and in wine more than 1,000 organic and anorganic constituents were defined. As outlined in detail below at least on gastric acid secretion it has been convincingly demonstrated that alcohol and alcoholic beverages have markedly different effects [1][2][3] .…”