Ethanol, a clear colorless alcohol, has been consumed by humans for millennia, but its effects on the body are far from benign. At lower doses, it induces decreased inhibitions and loquaciousness, leading to its social appeal. However, it can cause severe consequences at higher doses, such as coma and respiratory depression, due to its zero-order elimination kinetics. Chronic ethanol abuse wreaks havoc on multiple organ systems, particularly the CNS and the liver. Abrupt cessation of ethanol...

During the initial hours of fasting, the body uses up its glycogen stores as an energy source. Once these glycogen reserves are depleted, the body begins breaking down stored triglycerides and structural proteins. During this stage, glycerol becomes a key substrate for gluconeogenesis, while free fatty acids undergo beta-oxidation to provide energy for tissues, such as skeletal muscle. In the fasting state, the body spares protein breakdown as much as possible to conserve muscle and structural...

Carboxylic acids, upon heating, undergo a decarboxylation reaction by releasing carbon dioxide gas. Monocarboxylic acids do not undergo decarboxylation easily. However, a silver salt of carboxylic acid reacts with bromine or iodine under high temperature to release carbon dioxide gas and forms halide with one less carbon. This reaction is called the Hunsdiecker reaction.

Reduction is a simple strategy to convert a carbonyl group to a hydroxyl group. The three major pathways to reduce carbonyls to alcohols are catalytic hydrogenation, hydride reduction, and borane reduction.
Catalytic hydrogenation is similar to the reduction of an alkene or alkyne by adding H2 across the pi bond in the presence of transition metal catalysts like Raney Ni, Pd–C, Pt, or Ru. Aldehydes and ketones can be reduced by this method, often under mild to moderate heat (25–100°C) and...

α-Alkylation of ketones is achieved in the presence of alkyl halides and a base. The reaction proceeds via the formation of an enolate ion followed by nucleophilic substitution. The choice of base employed is essential as it is the key factor in determining the reaction outcome.
The reaction involving bases like EtO− whose conjugate acid EtOH (pKa = 15.9) is stronger than the ketone (pKa = 19.2) results in an equilibrium mixture with higher ketone concentration. As a consequence,...

Wolff–Kishner reduction involves converting aldehydes and ketones to alkanes using hydrazine and a base. The reaction converts a carbonyl group to a methylene group. The method was independently discovered by N. Kishner in 1911 and L. Wolff in 1912. The reduction is carried out in high-boiling solvents such as ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol because heat is required to deprotonate the N–H proton in one of the reaction steps.                                       ...