Ethanol Concentration and Standard Drink Equivalent of Locally Brewed Alcoholic Drinks in Vwang district, Jos South Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background:The harmful effect of alcohol use is a well-documented subject globally. However, little is known about the ethanol concentration of locally brewed alcoholic drinks in rural communities in Nigeria. The aim of this study was to determine the types of alcoholic drinks, their ethanol concentration and Standard Drink equivalent of the various locally brewed alcoholic drinks in Vwang District, Central Nigeria Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study where samples of alcoholic drinks were taken from all the commercial brewing house across the four wards of Vwang District. Determination of ethanol content of the brews was based on the standards of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC). The concentration of alcohol (ethanol) determined was converted to standard units by multiplying the amount of ethanol by volume (one litre) by the constant 0.789 Results: The six locally brewed drinks sampled from the brewing houses were: Achas, Pyata, Nzokokok, Rokrok, Rwagwakya and Zandi and the mean ethanol concentration and Standard Drink (SD) equivalent of one litre of the drinks was found to be: 2.78% (2.19 SD), 5.24% (4.13 SD), 5.02% (3.96 SD), 3.23% (2.54 SD), 5.58% (4.40 SD) and 6.34% (5.01 SD) respectively. Conclusion: The study found that the ethanol concentration of locally brewed alcoholic drinks in Vwang District ranged between 2.78 – 6.34%. When converted to Standard Drinks, a litre of the drinks would be approximately 2.19 – 5.02 standard drinks. There was no difference in the cost per volume based on the standard drink equivalent of the drink. This calls for standardization of methods of preparation of these drinks, labe