Los Angeles, Feb 21 (IANS): A tiny capsule that mimics the liver in processing alcohol could provide a speedy cure to hangovers, says an American study.

In a discovery that could promise a quick fix to the common hangover, a team of researchers led by University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) engineers has identified a method for speeding up the body's reaction to the consumption of alcohol.

In a paper published online Feb 17 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Nanotechnology, Yunfeng Lu, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, and his colleagues describe how they placed two complementary enzymes in a capsule to speed up the elimination of alcohol from the body.

The enzyme combination within the capsule essentially processes alcohol the way the liver does, reports Science Daily.

Principal investigator Lu said the enzyme combination could be ingested as a pill, chemically altering alcohol in the digestive system, even as the liver does its work.

"The pill acts in a way extremely similar to the way your liver does," Lu said. "With further research, this discovery could be used as a preventative measure or antidote for alcohol intoxication."