Alcohol Dehydrogenase Assay

Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) comprises a family of enzymes that catalyzes the conversion of alcohol to aldehydes in many organisms. ADH plays an important role in alcohol detoxification and leads to the generation of carcinogenic acetaldehyde which can be further converted into acetic acid by aldehyde dehydrogenase. The measurement of ADH activity in serum can be a sensitive indicator of hepatic injury and hepatitisis. This colorimetric assay is based on alcohol dehydrogenase catalyzed oxidation of ethanol, in which the formed NADH can convert a nearly colorless probe to an intensely colored product, which exhibits maximum absorbance at 440nm, which is proportional to the amount of ADH in the sample.