How many million years have we been drinking alcohol for?

Gene mutation has revealed that we’ve been drinking alcohol for ten million years.

16:22 02 December 2014

A recent study that looked at gene ADH4 in 70 million years of primate evolution has concluded that we have been drinking alcohol for around ten million years.

Researchers believe that early man developed a gene mutation that meant they could metabolise fermenting fruit lying on the ground.

The latest study, led by Professor Matthew Carrigan from Santa Fe College in Florida, showed that early humans adapted to metabolise ethanol long before human-directed fermentation.

'Here we resurrect digestive alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH4) from our primate ancestors to explore the history of primate-ethanol interactions,' said Professor Carrigan.

'The evolving catalytic properties of these resurrected enzymes show that our ape ancestors gained a digestive dehydrogenase enzyme capable of metabolising ethanol near the time they began using the forest floor about 10 million years ago.

'The ADH4 enzyme in our more ancient and arboreal ancestors did not efficiently oxidise ethanol.

'This change suggests exposure to dietary sources of ethanol increased in hominids during the early stages of our adaptation to a terrestrial lifestyle.

'Because fruit collected from the forest floor is expected to contain higher concentrations of fermenting yeast and ethanol than similar fruits hanging on trees this transition may also be the first time our ancestors were exposed to - and adapted to - substantial amounts of dietary ethanol.'