In the interest of science, two volunteers were recruited Tuesday night at Adler Brau Brewpub to try one of the many commercial hangover remedies on the market. It seemed the perfect opportunity to try the product because new owners Tom and Steve Lonsway were conducting the first of what will become a monthly Beer School at the microbrewery.

Beer School participants Donna Lythjohan and Marcia Knapp agreed to try the natural product First Call and report their condition the following morning.

First Call is an extract of artichoke heart and sarsaparilla root that has been used for several decades by Dr. Charles Cochran as a liver support supplement and detoxifier. "We've been using it clinically," Cochran said. "We developed a new extraction process that made quite a unique compound and ended up with a complex of flavonoids that is unlike any other plant material. Serendipitously, we found it also accelerated the rate at which ethanol is broken down and eliminated." Cochran said the artichoke/sarsaparilla concoction is just one of a number of liver support products he uses in practice, which also includes extracts of milk thistle, selenium and amino acids.

But it wasn't until he gave the artichoke/sarsaparilla mix to Greg Koenig as a defense for his liver after a little too much partying that it was recognized as a hangover remedy. Today Koenig is CEO of Natural Bridges Products Inc., the Watsonville, Calif., company that markets First Call.

"We have what we think is the next aspirin," Koenig said. "People say this is too good to be true, and I would never have believed it myself if I hadn't spent the last four years watching it grow. I would never, ever, ever drink without it again, knowing what alcohol does to the body." Koenig stressed that you must follow directions, and take three of the caplets before drinking and three when done drinking.

So what did the two volunteers think of First Call after sampling a wide variety of beer at the Beer School?

"I felt great this morning,” Lythjohan said. "No problem whatsoever.” Lythjohan and her husband, Ken, are avid microbrew fans. "I usually end up getting a little headache when I mix a lot of microbrews," she said. "If I want to avoid a headache or hangover, I'll take two aspirins before I go to bed. I didn't even do that. I just relied on those pills and felt great."

"I was very skeptical," Knapp said. "I got up at 6 in the morning. No headache whatsoever. I felt great. I was like, huh, that's very unusual. No heaviness in my head. No headache. My eyes didn't hurt or anything."

Jim Lundstrom can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 374, or by e-mail at: jlundstrom@postcrescent.com