Team:XHD-Wuhan-Pro-China/Implementation
Proposed Implementation
Implementation
The alcohol flushing reaction occurs when the human body fails to digest the excess acetaldehyde created by alcohol digestion. It makes the person develop flushes or blotches on their bodies, and could potentially enhance the harmful effects of alcohol. This phenomenon is the result of a mutation in the gene that programs the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase 2, which helps to metabolize acetaldehyde. It is estimated that approximately 30 to 50% of east Asians suffer from this reaction. To make it even worse, alcoholic drinks are often used for working purposes in modern China. In social engagement events, young people new to the workplace are forced to drink to show their loyalty to their superiors. If they refuse to do so, they may become isolated in work or even be fired. This so-called “wine culture” has resulted in many cases of alcoholic poisoning.
Our product, Sober Up, is a probiotic that tries to deal with this problem by producing the enzymes needed for alcohol digestion. We believe that it has a great potential that could be used in a variety of other products for both individual and company uses.
Target Areas
Alcoholic drinks are one of the most widely drank beverages in the human world. Statistical data suggest that the Chinese alcohol market was valued at $175 billion in 2019, with baijiu alone taking 65% of the overall market.
Our product aims to moderate the potential harm of excess drinking in populations that:
People that live in an area with high alcohol consumption People that have long drinking habits that could damage their bodies People that cannot digest alcohol due to a deficiency in metabolizing enzymes People that are forced to drink in social gatherings People that suffer from severe hangover effects
Suggestions on how to use
Taking into account the function of our probiotics and the current state of drinking.
This is what we did.
Step 1. we will ferment and cultivate the engineered probiotics into freeze-dried powder.
Step 2. Isolate oxygen and moisture and make them into small bags to ensure the activity of probiotics.
This is what consumers need to do.
step 1. Mix this probiotics into honey water or yogurt half an hour before drinking to activate the probiotics.
Step 2. Take honey water or yogurt containing probiotics while drinking.
Of course, we still recommend that users drink a small amount of alcohol, which is harmful to health. This kind of thing is only suitable when you have to.
Security considerations
1. Our 1917 probiotics do not contain endotoxins and can be eaten safely.
2. None of the 4 genes we transferred through synthetic biology methods will cause harm to the environment and human health.
3. We think that taking our probiotics while drinking alcohol, probiotics are difficult to colonize in the intestines, and will be quickly killed, or be killed by competition from other intestinal flora. There is no leakage of engineered bacteria. Even if leakage may occur, the probiotics that degrade alcohol will not cause harm to the environment.
4. We still need to pay more attention at the legal level. For example, this kind of engineered probiotics will not be allowed in China. However, we are concerned that there are already engineered anti-alcoholic probiotics that are normally sold in the United States.
References
1. Brooks PJ, Enoch MA, Goldman D, Li TK, Yokoyama A. The alcohol flushing response: an unrecognized risk factor for esophageal cancer from alcohol consumption. PLoS Med. 2009 Mar 24;6(3):e50. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000050. PMID: 19320537; PMCID: PMC2659709.
2. db_staff. (2021, August 9). Confidence "shaky" over China's anticipated crackdown on drinking. Confidence “shaky” over China’s anticipated crackdown on drinking. https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2021/08/confidence-shaky-over-possible-new-china-crackdown-on-drinking/.
3. THE ECONOMIST ONLINE. (2011, February 14). Drinking habits. The Economist. https://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/02/daily_chart_global_alcohol_consumption.
4. Gao J, Zheng Q, Lai FY, Gartner C, Du P, Ren Y, Li X, Wang D, Mueller JF, Thai PK. Using wastewater-based epidemiology to estimate consumption of alcohol and nicotine in major cities of China in 2014 and 2016. Environ Int. 2020 Mar;136:105492. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105492. Epub 2020 Jan 27. PMID: 31999969.