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In Britain, alcohol hangovers account for about £2 billon (€3bn) in lost wages each year, mostly due to sickness absence, suggests the report in the journal (vol 331, pp1515-7).
This trend has encouraged a plethora of hangover 'cures' to reach the market. Yet researchers at the Penninsula Medical School based at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth found few scientific trials to support their efficacy.
"The paucity of randomised controlled trials is in stark contrast to the plethora of 'hangover cures' marketed on the Internet," they said.
The team searched medical databases and the Internet, and contacted experts and manufacturers for randomised controlled trials of any medical intervention for preventing or treating alcohol hangover.
They found eight trials testing eight different agents including drugs like propranolol (beta-blocking drug), tropisetron (drug for nausea and vertigo) and tolfenamic acid (painkiller), as well as fructose or glucose, and the dietary supplements borage, artichoke, prickly pear, and a yeast based preparation.
Most trials reported no beneficial effects, although encouraging findings existed for borage, a yeast based preparation, and tolfenamic acid.
"We are confident that our search strategy located all published trials on the subject," said the authors.
The findings show no compelling evidence to suggest that any complementary or conventional intervention is effective for treating or preventing the alcohol hangover, concluded the researchers.
The most effective way to avoid the symptoms of alcohol induced hangover is to practice abstinence or moderation, they said.