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Abusing alcohol harms health. Beyond the long-term effects, excessive consumption causes the next day to experience a picture of discomfort popularly known as hangover. Symptoms that may be experienced include tiredness, weakness, thirst, headache, muscle pain, nausea, stomach pain, vertigo, sensitivity to light and noise, anxiety, irritability, sweating, and high blood pressure.
There are many remedies who proclaim themselves effective against this malaise, but none have sufficient scientific evidence. This is reflected in a new systematic review of studies carried out by a team of researchers from King’s College London and South London and the Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
The study, published in the scientific journal “Addiction,” evaluated 21 randomized, placebo-controlled trials of clove extract, red ginseng, Korean pear juice, and other hangover cures.
Although some studies showed statistically significant improvements in hangover symptoms, all the evidence was of very low quality, usually due to methodological limitations or imprecise measurements. Also, there were no two studies on the same hangover remedy and no results have been independently replicated.
Of the 21 studies included, eight were carried out exclusively with male participants. In general, the studies were limited in their reports on the nature and timing of alcohol ingestion that were used to evaluate hangover remedies. There were also considerable differences in the type of alcohol and whether it was administered with food.
The hangover remedies evaluated in this study included curcumin, Duolac ProAP4 (probiotics), L-cysteine, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), Rapid Recovery (L-cysteine, thiamine, pyridoxine, and ascorbic acid), loxoprofen (loxoprofen sodium). ), SJP-001 (naproxen and fexofenadine), Phyllpro (Phyllanthus amarus), Clovinol (clove bud extract), Hovenia dulcis Thunb. Fruit Extract (HDE), Acanthopanax Polysaccharide Extract (PEA), Red Ginseng, Korean Pear Juice, L-Ornithine, Prickly Pear, Artichoke Extract, ‘Morning-Fit’ (Dry Yeast, Thiamine Nitrate, Hydrochloride pyridoxine and riboflavin), propranolol, tolfenamic acid, chlormethiazole and pyritinol.
Common pain relievers, such as acetaminophen or aspirin, have also not been evaluated in randomized placebo-controlled hangover trials.
According to the researchers, future studies should be more rigorous in their methods, for example, using validated scales to assess hangover symptoms, and improving the participation of women in research.
“Hangover symptoms can cause significant distress and affect people’s job and academic performance. Given the ongoing speculation in the media about which hangover remedies work or not, the question of the efficacy of substances that claim to treat or prevent hangovers appears to be of considerable public interest. Our study has found that the evidence on these remedies is of very low quality and a more rigorous evaluation is needed. For now, the surest way to prevent hangover symptoms is to abstain from alcohol or drink in moderation, “says Dr. Emmert Roberts, lead author of the study.
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