Gastric emptying and gastrointestinal absorption of alcohol ingested with a meal.

We have measured, by an intubation method, gastric evacuation and gastrointestinal absorption of alcohol ingested with a meal in seven healthy nonalcoholic subjects. A homogenized meal containing [14C]PEG and ethanol (1 g/kg body wt) was given intragastrically while saline containing [57CO]vitamin B12 was perfused into the duodenum. Of the ingested alcohol, 39.4 +/- 4.1% was absorbed through the stomach wall during the first postprandial hour and 73.2 +/- 4.2% during the total postcibal period, whereas only 24 +/- 3% was absorbed during the same time in the duodenum. Thus alcohol ingested with a meal is mainly and rapidly absorbed in the stomach; the contribution of the small intestine below the angle of Treitz to alcohol absorption is negligible.