Enzyme Quickly Metabolizes Alcohol

a turquoise starling with orange eyes sits on a branch

Biological Strategy

European starling

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Catalyze Chemical Breakdown

Life depends upon the building up and breaking down of biological molecules. Catalysts, in the form of proteins or RNA, play an important role by dramatically increasing the rate of a chemical transformation––without being consumed in the reaction. The regulatory role that catalysts play in complex biochemical cascades is one reason so many simultaneous chemical transformations can occur inside living cells in water at ambient conditions. For example, consider the 10-enzyme catalytic breakdown and transformation of glucose to pyruvate in the glycolysis metabolic pathway.

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Birds

Class Aves (“bird”): Eagles, hawks, sparrows, parrots

Birds are evolutionary engineering marvels. They are descended from dinosaurs, but are far from our idea of heavy, scaly reptiles. Of the specific adaptions that set them apart, most notable is flight—although some mammals can fly, birds take the prize for abundance in the skies. Many birds have hollow, lightweight skeletons and specially-designed wings to help them stay aloft. They also have feathers made of keratin that help them stay warm, attract mates, and improve navigation and aerodynamics in flight. In contrast to their dinosaur ancestors, they lack true teeth and have replaced them with specialized beaks and bills.

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The metabolism of starlings breaks down alcohol quickly via an alcohol-splitting enzyme.

Image: Andreas Trepte / Wikimedia Commons /

Image: Mindaugas Urbonas ( en, / Wikimedia Commons /

Image: n.a. / Wikimedia Commons /

European starling (''Sturnus vulgaris'')

Image: MPF / Wikimedia Commons /

''<a href=/wiki/Sturnus_vulgaris title=Sturnus vulgaris>Sturnus vulgaris</a>'' map

Image: Jean-Philippe Boulet / Wikimedia Commons /

“Many birds that consume fermented fruit duly suffer from the after-effects of alcohol abuse. Starlings (Sturnis vulgaris), however, seem immune to them, remaining surprisingly sober. The secret behind this phenomenon was revealed during the late 1990s by researchers Dr. Ghassem Hakimi and Dr. Roland Prinzinger at Frankfurt University in Germany.”

“They discovered that starlings were able to metabolize alcohol at an exceptional speed, due to the rate of activity of the alcohol-splitting enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, which is 14 times greater in starlings than in humans. This means that the birds can indulge themselves on fermented fruit without getting drunk, since the alcohol is broken down quickly.” (Shuker 2001:221)

Last Updated September 14, 2016

References

Book

The Hidden Powers of Animals: Uncovering the Secrets of Nature

26/02/2021 | Dr. Karl P. N. Shuker

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