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Mass Spectrometric Identification of Ethyl Sulfate as an Ethanol Metabolite in Humans

Karolinska Institutet and University Hospital,¹ Departments of Clinical Neuroscience and² Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden

^aaddress correspondence to this author at: Alcohol Laboratory, L7:03, Karolinska University Hospital, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden; fax 46-8-51771532, e-mail Anders.Helander@cns.ki.se

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

After alcohol ingestion, the bulk of ethanol ingested (95%) is rapidly eliminated in the liver in a two-stage oxidation process: first to acetaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase and then to acetic acid by aldehyde dehydrogenase. The remainder is excreted mainly unchanged in urine and expired air. However, another small fraction of the ingested ethanol dose (<0.1%) (1) undergoes a phase II conjugation reaction catalyzed by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) to produce ethyl glucuronide (EtG), which is eventually excreted in the urine (2)(3)(4). Because EtG has a longer period of elimination than the parent compound, the interest in EtG has largely focused on its use as a sensitive and specific biomarker of recent alcohol intake with clinical and forensic applications (5)(6).

Animal studies have indicated that ethanol may also undergo sulfate conjugation through the action of sulfotransferase to produce ethyl sulfate (EtS) (7)(8)(9). After an oral dose of ethanol and injection of ³⁵S-labeled sulfate in rats, EtS was apparently excreted in urine mainly during the first 24 h (10). However, a general limitation in these studies was the lack of reliable methods for unequivocal identification of EtS and precise quantification.

In the present study on humans, we used a sensitive and specific liquid chromatographic–mass spectrometric (LC-MS) method to determine . . . [Full Text of this Article]

The following articles in journals at HighWire Press have cited this article:

				G. Hoiseth, J. P. Bernard, N. Stephanson, P. T. Normann, A. S. Christophersen, J. Morland, and A. Helander Comparison between the urinary alcohol markers EtG, EtS, and GTOL/5-HIAA in a controlled drinking experiment Alcohol Alcohol., March 1, 2008; 43(2): 187 - 191. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Bottcher, O. Beck, and A. Helander Evaluation of a new immunoassay for urinary ethyl glucuronide testing Alcohol Alcohol., January 1, 2008; 43(1): 46 - 48. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Helander, I. Olsson, and H. Dahl Postcollection Synthesis of Ethyl Glucuronide by Bacteria in Urine May Cause False Identification of Alcohol Consumption Clin. Chem., October 1, 2007; 53(10): 1855 - 1857. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Helander and H. Dahl Urinary Tract Infection: A Risk Factor for False-Negative Urinary Ethyl Glucuronide but Not Ethyl Sulfate in the Detection of Recent Alcohol Consumption Clin. Chem., September 1, 2005; 51(9): 1728 - 1730. [Full Text] [PDF]