Alcohol consumption in the absence of adequate nutrition may lead to activation of the glyoxylate cycle in man.

The consumption of alcohol prior to food intake results in alcohol metabolism occurring in the liver, and the liver is often damaged in chronic alcoholics. This paper highlights the possibility that alcohol consumption in the absence of adequate nutrition after an extended period of time may lead to activation of the glyoxylate cycle, an energy pathway associated with the conversion of fat into carbohydrate which until recently was thought to only exist in plants and bacteria. Copyright 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.