The Strongest Hangover Cure is Born

Wei Kang's eyes widened instantly as he carefully examined the side effects of this discontinued stomach medicine.

"It contains a trace chemical component that can greatly stimulate the activity of Alcohol Dehydrogenase and Acetaldehyde Dehydrogenase, thereby accelerating the metabolism of alcohol in the liver."

"However, the concentration of this chemical component is only one-thousandth, far too low for its side effects to show up in clinical trials. The component was merely detected and recorded."

Wei Kang chuckled and opened the system panel.

By now, he had already reached Lv6 on the panel.

Level: Lv6

Host: Wei Kang

Points: 566

Wei Kang was quite satisfied. This leveling speed was fairly fast.

He had only had around 400 points during the new drug launch event. More than two hundred had been added recently, and after deducting the 100 points he had spent, he still had over 500 left. In other words, he could extract at least five side effects.

As points accumulated, his level would rise. However, even after spending points, his level would remain.

Suddenly, the system popped up a window.

"After the host reaches Lv10, 1,000 points may be spent for one lottery draw."

"Prizes are divided into five categories: black, white, silver, gold, and rainbow. They will be drawn at random."

Wei Kang was delighted. It seemed system points were quite valuable after all—they could even be used for lottery draws.

He had originally thought points were fairly easy to obtain. He had quickly accumulated several hundred, and extracting a side effect only cost 100 each time, so he had felt rather well-off.

So the major use of points was the lottery. No wonder. As expected, the system's intention was to make him keep acquiring points and find ways to spend them. It would never let him have too many idle points.

He wondered what grades and types those colors—gold, silver, white, black, and rainbow—represented.

Wei Kang rubbed his hands excitedly, eager to give it a try.

He was really looking forward to the lottery draw once his points reached a thousand.

What kind of surprise would await him then?

It was practically unbearable.

For a moment, he was reluctant to spend points extracting side effects.

He wanted to save them all for lottery draws.

But he had already found such an enticing side effect, and 100 points would not make much difference.

He should extract it first.

At this rate, his points were increasing so quickly that he would probably reach the target of 1,000 within a month at most.

"System, extract this side effect that promotes alcohol metabolism in the body and create a new drug."

Soon, the system panel emitted a soft glow.

A prescription slowly appeared below.

The prescription was as miraculous as ever. As usual, it altered the proportions of the original ingredients and added several supplementary components, creating a new chemical component capable of greatly stimulating the activity of Alcohol Dehydrogenase and Acetaldehyde Dehydrogenase.

According to scientific explanations, a person's alcohol tolerance depended on the activity of the Alcohol Dehydrogenase and Acetaldehyde Dehydrogenase in their body.

Since ethanol was the main component of alcohol, after a person drank, 90% of the ethanol would be broken down into acetaldehyde by Alcohol Dehydrogenase. Then, under the action of Acetaldehyde Dehydrogenase, the acetaldehyde would be metabolized several times into water and carbon dioxide, which could then be safely expelled from the body.

If these two enzymes lacked activity in the human body, drinking could easily lead to alcohol poisoning. If their activity was extremely strong, alcohol could be metabolized quickly, making a person less likely to get drunk.

A person with a high alcohol tolerance had fully functional, highly active versions of both dehydrogenases in their body, allowing ethanol to be broken down as quickly as possible and preventing much acetaldehyde from accumulating.

People with low alcohol tolerance generally lacked active Acetaldehyde Dehydrogenase in their bodies, leaving them unable to metabolize acetaldehyde in time and causing it to build up in the liver.

Acetaldehyde was extremely harmful to the liver. It could bind with protein molecules inside liver cells, causing metabolic disorders in the liver. It could also reduce glutathione levels in liver cells, leading to liver cell necrosis, among other effects. Eventually, it could cause alcoholic hepatitis, alcoholic fatty liver disease, and alcoholic cirrhosis. In severe cases, it could even lead to liver cancer.

Acetaldehyde Dehydrogenase, abbreviated as ALDH, played a crucial role in alcohol metabolism in the human body.

It was encoded by seven different genes, but only ALDH1 and ALDH4 could metabolize acetaldehyde. They existed in the cytosol and mitochondria respectively. Only ALDH1 in the cytosol had relatively high activity and played an important role in alcohol metabolism. The activity of ALDH4 in the mitochondria was only one-tenth of the former.

The chemical component in this prescription could greatly stimulate the activity of all seven gene types, vastly enhancing the ability to metabolize acetaldehyde. Not only would the acetaldehyde-converting enzyme be greatly activated, but so would the ethanol-converting enzyme.

"I've struck it rich!"

Wei Kang leaped to his feet in excitement and paced back and forth through the laboratory.

If this were made into a hangover remedy, wouldn't it be the strongest hangover medicine in existence?

As long as someone swallowed this medicine before drinking, anyone could drink a thousand cups without falling.

"HAHAHA!"

He laughed heartily.

He could not help recalling the drinking parties he used to attend with Sun Chengren. They often had to drink large amounts of baijiu. It was not as if he did not know drinking harmed the body, but being part of that world, he had no choice but to adapt to its drinking-table culture.

If he had had a hangover remedy like this back then, the chances of him developing liver cancer would surely have been greatly reduced.

Fortunately, such a hangover remedy now existed. The livers of his fellow countrymen were saved.

Wei Kang's thoughts began racing.

He began gathering information on health supplements on the market that could sober people up and protect the liver.

Since what he wanted to make was not medicine but a health supplement, he naturally needed to understand his competitors' formulas and learn a thing or two from them.

Most health supplements on the market only had conditioning and maintenance effects, with no therapeutic effect. Therefore, they basically stuffed every potentially effective ingredient into a single formula.

For example, Kangaroo Country Swisse's most famous liver-protection tablets contained key ingredients such as turmeric extract, artichoke, and milk thistle. Milk thistle could protect liver cells and repair damaged ones, thereby detoxifying the liver. Turmeric had anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, could prevent various liver diseases, and could also help improve conditions such as fatty liver and cirrhosis.

These ingredients were mainly purified from medicinal plants. They were not drugs and had no side effects in most cases.

Of course, their effects were rather weak as well, requiring long-term use to achieve the claimed preventive and alleviating effects.

"Very good. These ingredients are all mine now."

Wei Kang nodded involuntarily and unceremoniously added those ingredients to his own health supplement formula.

The specific ingredients and dosages were all readily available online in great detail. After making a few improvements himself and adding the hangover remedy ingredients provided by the system, he mixed everything together and quickly came up with a reinforced liver-protection tablet formula.

Its main effects were sobering up and detoxification, repairing damaged liver cells, and preventing and improving fatty liver and cirrhosis.

In short, in order to achieve the best health benefits, Wei Kang spared no expense in adding a great many liver-protecting, liver-nourishing, detoxifying, and antioxidant functions.

To make it take effect as quickly as possible, he made it into capsules. That way, after swallowing them, they could be rapidly absorbed by the digestive system and would be gentler as well.

Once it was finished, he proudly admired his creation.

"Oh!" He suddenly slapped his forehead. "How could I forget about this? If this hangover medicine works too well, what if people start binge drinking after taking it? Wouldn't I be forced to take the blame?"

"No, I'm not taking the fall for that. I need to figure out a way to sober people up without turning the users into alcoholics."

"That's it." An idea struck Wei Kang. "Other than unavoidable drinking at social engagements, people mainly drink for that pleasantly drunken sensation, right? Their minds get all hazy, it gives them courage, and they get to experience that floating, heavenly feeling."

"Then I just need to add some ingredients that refresh the mind and keep people alert. The more they drink, the clearer-headed they become, so they'll lose the pleasure of drinking. Then surely they won't keep drinking until they become raging alcoholics. Heh heh!"

"And the packaging absolutely must display the following warning prominently:"

"Drinking is harmful to health. This product is for use only in urgent situations. Do not binge drink after taking it. The manufacturer assumes no responsibility for any consequences otherwise."

"That should have the intended effect and keep people from binge drinking, right? Heh heh."

"I really am such a clever little genius."

Wei Kang grinned happily.