U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Effect of Food on Alcohol Absorption and Elimination Patterns

NCJ Number
141732
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 38 Issue: 2 Dated: (March 1993) Pages: 285-291
Author(s)
R L Watkins; E V Adler
Date Published
1993
Length
7 pages
Annotation
A sample of six men and three women participated in an experiment in which they consumed near bolus doses of alcohol (0.69 g/kg) on two occasions a week apart. They had to consume the alcohol as quickly as possible, in an average of about 12 minutes.
Abstract
In the first experiment, the alcohol was consumed directly after a large meal, while on the second occasion, the subjects drank the alcohol following a 6-hour fast. An Intoxilyzer 4011A was used to measure Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC), beginning as soon as the alcohol was consumed and continuing at 8-minute intervals over the course of about 4 hours. The BrAC was measured in grams per 210 L of breath. While the average time to reach maximum BrAC was 41 minutes under both sets of circumstances, the results showed that the average elimination rate of ethanol was significantly lower after a meal. Nonetheless, the total time required to reach zero BrAC was about the same. 1 table, 2 figures, and 14 references