Chinese tree extract reverses Drunkeness

Extracts of a Chinese variety of the oriental raisin tree (Hovenia dulcis) could be the answer to relieving the uncomfortable after effects of alcohol consumption.

The extracts have been used for 500 years to treat hangovers in China.

Now dihydromyricetin (DHM), a component of the extract, has proved its worth as an intoxication blocker in a series of experiments on boozing rats.

It works by preventing alcohol from having its usual intoxicating effects on the brain, however much is in the blood.

Soon, a preparation containing DHM will be tested for the first time in people. "I would give it to problem drinkers who can't resist going to the pub and drinking," says pharmacologist Jing Liang of the University of California, Los Angeles, who led the research team.

"DHM will reduce the degree of drunkenness for the amount of alcohol drunk and will definitely reduce the hangover symptoms," says Liang. "In time, it will reduce their desire for alcohol."