Dietary fiber beverage with dextrin and konjac attenuates post-drinking alcohol exposure: an acute, randomized,...

Background: This study evaluated the effect of a dietary fiber beverage with dextrin and konjac (DFBDK) on alcohol concentrations in the blood and breath of healthy subjects after alcohol consumption and explored potential physicochemical mechanisms related to ethanol transport. Methods: This was an acute, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover clinical trial. The subjects randomly received natural water as placebo or DFBDK, and their alcohol concentration was measured after alcohol consumption. Subjects who initially took DFBDK switched to placebo, while those who initially received placebo switched to DFBDK. To elucidate the potential mechanisms by which DFBDK may delay ethanol transport, we conducted in vitro ethanol diffusion assays and dietary fiber viscosity measurements. Results: In total, 20 subjects were enrolled and completed this trial. Compared to placebo, the blood level of alcohol after alcohol consumption was lower at 15 min, 30 min, and 60 min. Consistent with changes in the blood level of alcohol, compared to the placebo group, the alcohol level was significantly lower in the breath of individuals in the DFBDK group at 30 min, 120 min, and 180 min after alcohol consumption. The AUC Breath Alcohol and the AUC Blood Alcohol for DFBDK were significantly lower than those for placebo (t = -2.99, P = 0.007; t = -2.50, P = 0.022). In the in vitro ethanol diffusion assay, during the 120 min diffusion period, ethanol concentrations in the receiver phase were consistently lower in the dietary fiber group than in the control group (P < 0.05 at each time point). The viscosity test demonstrated that the fiber-containing mixture maintained high viscosity characteristics throughout the entire 120-minute observation period. Conclusions: Compared with placebo, acute DFBDK intake reduced post-drinking blood and breath alcohol concentrations in healthy adults. In vitro diffusion and rheological findings suggest that this effect may be partly related to delayed ethanol transport in a high-viscosity luminal environment. These findings provide proof-of-concept evidence that increasing luminal viscosity before alcohol intake may represent a simple nutritional strategy to attenuate early systemic ethanol exposure.