Acetaldehyde

Human toxicity Acetaldehyde may cause toxicity if inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through the skin. It is a skin and mucous membrane irritant which causes a burning sensation of the nose, throat, and eyes. Fatalities, following inhalation, are due to anesthesia when prompt and pulmonary edema when delayed. Very large exposure may cause death due to respiratory paralysis. At poisoning, the following clinical effects have been observed: a) cardiovascular: tachycardia, and hypertension; b) respiratory: bronchitis, pulmonary edema, and respiratory paralysis; c) neurological: CNS depression, and narcosis; d) gastrointestinal: nausea, vomiting; d) hepatic: acetaldehyde can impair mitochondrial respiration in the liver, similar to effects seen with ethanol [2]. The minimum lethal human dose for acetaldehyde has not been delineated [2]. An acute oral dose of ethanol to volunteers produces blood acetaldehyde concentrations of 0.9-1.3 mg/l, whereas in chronic alcoholics, these levels may range from 1.7-2.5 mg/l. Following co-administration of ethanol and an inhibitor of acetaldehyde metabolism, such as disulfiram or calcium carbamide, acetaldehyde blood concentrations may increase 5-10 fold over normal level (reviewed in [1]).