Alcohol’s Ten Million Year History

Dec. 5, 2014 – Our ancestors, the ones that were still living in trees, almost certainly evolved the ability to break down alcohol by snacking on fermenting rotten fruit on the ground. Eventually, they moved out of the trees permanently so were they the first, genuine party animals? That’s not the conclusion of serious research at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida but we can’t help the sneaking suspicion that maybe a hard day of foraging was more enjoyable with a slight high.

The study focused on digestive enzymes called ADH4 found in the tongue, throat and stomach of primates. The study’s lead author, paleogeneticist Matthew Carrigan, noted that a genetic mutation 10 million years ago gave our ancestors the ability to break down ethanol and it just happened to coincide with the timeline of the move to ground dwelling by chimps and gorillas. He thinks the fermented fruit was a second choice on the menu, the preference being good fruit. Also, the evolution in digestion might have been a way to stay fed during times of scarcity. The researchers believe the amount of ethanol ingested was fairly limited but they will be exploring the ethanol content of fallen fruit and whether it is something the ape species will eat.

Humans began deliberately fermenting various food items about 9,000 years ago and the scientists are looking at whether the desire for excessive consumption was the result of the human genome not having had enough time to fully adapt to alcohol.

An article about the study by Charles Q. Choi appeared in LiveScience and it is definitely worth reading http://www. livescience.com/48958-human-origins-alcohol-consumption.html