alcohol dehydrogenase

noun

, Biochemistry.

1. an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of ethanol and other alcohols to acetaldehyde using NAD+, the first step in the metabolism of alcohol by the liver.

Example Sentences

An enzyme in the liver called ADH4, or alcohol dehydrogenase 4, breaks ethanol down, which eventually becomes carbon dioxide and water.

From Salon

And women do not produce as much of an alcohol-metabolizing enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase, meaning alcohol is more toxic for them, Wakim-Fleming said.

From Washington Post

A: In the last 7 million to 21 million years our ancestors evolved a souped-up version of alcohol dehydrogenase, an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol.

From Science Magazine

Researchers have recently learned that a mutation some 10 million years ago in the alcohol dehydrogenase gene greatly increased alcohol tolerance in the ancestor shared by humans and African apes.

From Wall Street Journal

It seems likely that an enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase, that we also have as our primary defence against alcohol, is particularly active in these hamsters.

From Scientific American