Breath Acetone Concentrations in Fasting Male Volunteers: Further Studies and Effect of Alcohol Administration

This paper reports the concentration of acetone in end-expired breath of male volunteers as determined by gas chromatography. It also explores the effect of small doses of ethanol, given orally and intravenously, on breath acetone concentrations and their variations with time after intake. When subjects drank a small dose of alcohol (0.25 g/kg) after 12 h fasting, their breath acetone concentration decreased abruptly by 40%. The breath acetone time profile was almost a mirror image of the blood ethanol time course. After 36 h without food, the ethanol-induced drop in breath acetone was 18%. Ethanol given intravenously likewise caused a significant lowering of breath acetone concentration.