Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access originally published online on May 28, 2007
Alcohol and Alcoholism 2007 42(4):321-325; doi:10.1093/alcalc/agm039
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Biomarkers to disclose recent intake of alcohol: potential of 5-hydroxytryptophol glucuronide testing using new direct UPLC-tandem MS and ELISA methods
1 Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
2 Arztpraxis für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Labordiagnostik, Dessau, Germany
3 Department of Psychiatry, University of Mainz, Germany
4 Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Alcohol Laboratory, Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed at: Karolinska University Hospital Solna, L7:05 Clinical Pharmacology, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden. Tel: +46 8 51773026; Fax: +46 8 331343; E-mail: olof.beck{at}karolinska.se
Received 21 January 2007; first review notified 23 February 2007; in revised form 26 March 2007; accepted 30 March 2007
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Abstract |
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Aims: This study compared two new methods for direct determination of 5-hydroxytryptophol glucuronide (GTOL) in urine, a biomarker for detection of recent alcohol consumption. Methods: Urine samples were collected from ten alcoholic patients during recovery from intoxication. A direct injection ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for measurement of the urinary GTOL to 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) ratio, and an ELISA assay for direct measurement of GTOL, were used. Comparison was made with the urinary ethanol and ethyl glucuronide (EtG) concentrations. Results: The breath ethanol concentration on admission ranged between 1.0–3.1 g/l. The UPLC-MS/MS method showed a median detection time of 39 h for an elevated urinary GTOL/5-HIAA ratio, while EtG was detected for a median of 65 h. Determination of GTOL by the ELISA assay showed 87% sensitivity in detecting positive samples at a 44% specificity, as compared with the UPLC-MS/MS method. Conclusions: The lower sensitivity of the urinary GTOL/5-HIAA ratio compared with EtG for recent drinking may be clinically useful, in cases where the EtG test provides an unwanted high sensitivity for intake of only small amounts of alcohol or unintentional ethanol exposure.