Memories of the 28th Century

After posting in regard to gas, I realized that it would also be possible to tailor intestinal flora to produce alcohol. Then I realized that there probably are bacteria/yeast doing that right now in my intestines, but the density is not high enough to make a noticeable effect.

After thinking about it for a while, I decided that it would be difficult to produce enough alcohol in my intestine to get me drunk, but it might be interesting to try.

It would have to be a multi-step process. In addition to having the right bacteria, one would need the right food. Food would be a problem, because sugars are absorbed almost immediately, and that is the best food for turning into alcohol. (That probably is why the yeasts don’t get me drunk now.) Cellulose is made of sugar molecules tacked together by a single oxygen bond, and the hydrochloric acid in the stomach converts some cellulose into sugar by breaking the oxygen bond. From there the yeast/bacteria could convert it into alcohol, if they are in the right place.

Even if the yeast were close to the duodenum, so the sugar could be digested in the yeast could excrete alcohol, I doubt if the process would produce enough alcohol in s suitable amount of time to produce any suitable effect. There would be the side-effect of carbon dioxide being created at a quick pace, and that probably would be in quantities sufficient to be noticed.

This idea is not practical, but it might be good enough to use as a technique in a novel set in the future. By then there might be bacteria that would be that efficient.