Pounding headaches and dizzying nausea are in many Americans’ futures when New Year’s Eve flows into National Hangover Day.
It’s caused a spike in hangover queries on Google, including searches for a cutting-edge probiotic. Genetically engineered, it’s designed to help drinkers have easier mornings. The science behind it, however, isn’t quite proven yet.
What is ZBiotics?
ZBiotics offers a “pre-alcohol probiotic drink,” according to its website. By making Pre-Alcohol the first drink of the night, the company advertises that users will be able to drink responsibly and still “make the most of it” the following day.
The drink features genetically engineered probiotics designed to eliminate acetaldehyde — a byproduct of alcohol consumption linked to hangovers. The probiotic, Bacillus subtilis ZB183, emulates enzymes created by the liver to breakdown acetaldehyde within the gut. The full value of eliminating acetaldehyde to prevent hangovers, however, is still a little unclear.
“The more you drink, the more you’ll have to deal with the effects of other things besides acetaldehyde,” ZBiotics CEO Zack Abbott told the Los Angeles Times via email. Staff writer Corinne Purtill had spoken with a bourbon reviewer who used the product with mixed results, so Abbott offered an explanation.
“That being said, for the vast majority of people, acetaldehyde is a major factor, and Pre-Alcohol therefore results in them feeling better (if not perfect) the next day,” Abbott continued.
Can ZBiotics cure hangovers?
ZBiotics is designed to minimize the effects of a single chemical, but a hangover can be explained by many different things happening at once. It’s one of the many reasons ZBiotics shouldn’t be considered a hangover cure or perfect preventive measure against hangovers; nothing truly is.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, hangovers can be caused not only by exposure to too much acetaldehyde, but also dehydration, poor sleep, inflammation and gastrointestinal irritation.
“The only way to completely avoid a hangover is to not drink alcohol at all or to keep alcohol intake to a minimum,” the institute reported. “There is no cure for a hangover other than time.”
It is also important to note that ZBiotics is considered a food ingredient by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, not a drug. This means the product was never evaluated for its purported health effects.
On the product’s website, ZBiotics.com advertising reads, “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”
ZBiotics’ own internal testing didn’t include human trials either, only rats.
“We did internally test ourselves against a blinded placebo product,” John W. Oliver, ZBiotics head of R&D, told Chemical and Engineering News in 2019 when asked about the lack of human trials.
“I’d love to have the budget to launch full clinical trials and demonstrate efficacy,” he added. “But being required to demonstrate efficacy is too much. I’d argue that would just kill innovation for bioproducts like this.”
The bottom line
ZBiotics takes an unproven approach to improving the quintessential hangover — a condition still bereft of instant cures and marvelously effective home remedies. The science on probiotics as dietary health boosters in general remains shaky — one 2018 study going as far as to call them “useless in many cases.”
So is there a perfect hangover cure? No. Can ZBiotics’ drink effectively prevent a hangover? Not likely. Good luck to all those New Year’s Eve partyers out there.
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