For habitual consumers of alcohol who often depend on paracetamol to ease pain in the body, this bit of information is unpleasant. This is so as a university don, Professor Solomon Amabaraye Braide has warned that the combination of alcoholic beverages and paracetamol could be fatal.
Prof. Braide, a lecturer at the Rivers State University (RSU), Port Harcourt who made the disclosure in a recent interview with National Network said the combined use of these substances for palliation of pains could potentially damage the liver.
The Kalabari-born academic noted that paracetamol as a soft drug was alright but warned against the dangers when those in pains take alcohol and also take paracetamol to reduce the pains.
The renowned Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology who also holds a doctorate degree in Chemical Pathology noted that “The Paracetamol will reduce the alcohol concentration which normally will protect the liver from peroxides in the alcohol”, warning that when taken with alcohol, could cause more problems.
Prof. Braide recalled that these were some of the warnings he gave during the 35th Inaugural Lecture of the university way back in 2015.
In a paper titled ‘Xenobiotics, Enzyme Induction and Environment’, the former President of Goldashe United FC, an all-stars recreational club side based in Port Harcourt, drew a correlation of alcoholic beverages and paracetamol as xenobiotics introduced into human bodies.
“They are xenobiotics, foreign substances introduced into human bodies which, if not carefully managed, could be harmful to the body.
He added that these substances had the capacity to make life very miserable to mankind, noting, “If we do not take care of these xenobiotics, we would not keep a good legacy for our children and children’s children”.
“So, what I tried to show in that lecture then was that nutritional differences affect the way we metabolize substances to xenobiotics. That same difference also affect drug metabolism but we can have an enzyme that can suggest to us when we are exposed to things like oil especially when they are properly interpreted”.
