Using an Easy and Fast Modified Chemical Method for Detection of Methanol Content in Drinking Herbal Distillates

Methanol is an essential compound in land plant physiology. Drinking of it can cause poisoning that the most common symptom of it is permanent blindness. A new modified chemical method is needed for detection of methanol in herbal distillates, because all of sophisticated methods for direct determination of methanol require advanced instruments and high technical knowledge which preparing them is very expensive. In this study, a chemical method was modified for detection of methanol content in herbal distillates. For detection and semi determination of methanol level in herbal distillates by the proposed method, 30 different herbal distillate samples were considered. Briefly, 50μL of sulfuric acid and the same amount of potassium permanganate solutions are added into 0.5mL of a 1:1 ratio water diluted sample. After 5 min, examination was continued with adding 50μL of sodium hydrogen sulfite solution, chromotropic acid and 1mL concentrated sulfuric acid, respectively. The appearance of purple color with each intensity would be deduced as positive outcome and the eye comparison of its intensity with color standards is lead to attain semi determined results. The obtained results by the chemical method are confirmed via GC method. According to the results, the presence of methanol in all of examined samples was confirmed. The proposed chemical method is an easy method with suitable sensitivity and accuracy for detection and semi determination of methanol content in herbal distillates and hence, it can be useful to prevention of methanol chronic poisoning by methanol quality control of methanol in these products in mentioned cases.

Methanol poisoning; Methanol; Herbaceous distillates; Gas chromatography