**3. Alcohol metabolism**

The pharmacologic and potentially pathologic effects of alcohol depend on the concentration of ethanol and its metabolites in the body, and on the duration of exposure to these substances. Alcohol is metabolized in the body by various mechanisms, that is, oxidative pathways involving alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), cytochrome P450, and catalase enzymes (which either add oxygen or remove hydrogen) and non-oxidative pathways.
