Interaction of Ethanol with Hepatic Drug Metabolism

The microsomal ethanol-oxodizing system (MEOS), an accessory pathway of ethanol metabolism in the liver, shares many properties with other microsomal drug-metabolizing enzymes, including utilization of cytochrome P-450, NADPH, and O2 [1]. This explains many of the alcohol-drug interactions which have been observed. In this respect the acute and chronic effects of ethanol are usually opposite.