-
Biomedical Papers of the Medical... Mar 2016Alcohol variants such as ethanol and methanol are simple organic compounds widely used in foods, pharmaceuticals, chemical synthesis, etc. Both are becoming an emerging... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Alcohol variants such as ethanol and methanol are simple organic compounds widely used in foods, pharmaceuticals, chemical synthesis, etc. Both are becoming an emerging health problem; abuse of ethanol containing beverages can lead to disparate health problems and methanol is highly toxic and unfit for consumption.
METHODS AND RESULTS
This review summarizes the basic knowledge about ethanol and methanol toxicity, the effect mechanism on the body, the current care of poisoned individuals and the implication of alcohols in the development of diseases. Alcohol related dementia, stroke, metabolic syndrome and hepatitis are discussed as well. Besides ethanol, methanol toxicity and its biodegradation pathways are addressed.
CONCLUSIONS
The impact of ethanol and methanol on the body is shown as case reports, along with a discussion on the possible implication of alcohol in Alzheimer's disease and antidotal therapy for methanol poisoning. The role of ethanol in cancer and degenerative disorders seems to be underestimated given the current knowledge. Treatment in case of poisoning is another issue that remains unresolved even though effective protocols and drugs exist.
Topics: Alcohol Dehydrogenase; Alcoholic Beverages; Alcoholism; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase; Antidotes; Ethanol; Humans; Methanol; Receptors, Cell Surface
PubMed: 26006090
DOI: 10.5507/bp.2015.023 -
Mini Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry 2019Methanol is the simplest alcohol. Compared to ethanol that is fully detoxified by metabolism. Methanol gets activated in toxic products by the enzymes, alcohol... (Review)
Review
Methanol is the simplest alcohol. Compared to ethanol that is fully detoxified by metabolism. Methanol gets activated in toxic products by the enzymes, alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase. Paradoxically, the same enzymes convert ethanol to harmless acetic acid. This review is focused on a discussion and overview of the literature devoted to methanol toxicology and antidotal therapy. Regarding the antidotal therapy, three main approaches are presented in the text: 1) ethanol as a competitive inhibitor in alcohol dehydrogenase; 2) use of drugs like fomepizole inhibiting alcohol dehydrogenase; 3) tetrahydrofolic acid and its analogues reacting with the formate as a final product of methanol metabolism. All the types of antidotal therapies are described and how they protect from toxic sequelae of methanol is explained.
Topics: Alcohol Dehydrogenase; Antidotes; Enzyme Inhibitors; Humans; Methanol; Molecular Structure
PubMed: 30864518
DOI: 10.2174/1389557519666190312150407 -
International Journal of Molecular... Oct 2021Functions of selenium are diverse as antioxidant, anti-inflammation, increased immunity, reduced cancer incidence, blocking tumor invasion and metastasis, and further... (Review)
Review
Functions of selenium are diverse as antioxidant, anti-inflammation, increased immunity, reduced cancer incidence, blocking tumor invasion and metastasis, and further clinical application as treatment with radiation and chemotherapy. These functions of selenium are mostly related to oxidation and reduction mechanisms of selenium metabolites. Hydrogen selenide from selenite, and methylselenol (MSeH) from Se-methylselenocyteine (MSeC) and methylseleninicacid (MSeA) are the most reactive metabolites produced reactive oxygen species (ROS); furthermore, these metabolites may involve in oxidizing sulfhydryl groups, including glutathione. Selenite also reacted with glutathione and produces hydrogen selenide via selenodiglutathione (SeDG), which induces cytotoxicity as cell apoptosis, ROS production, DNA damage, and adenosine-methionine methylation in the cellular nucleus. However, a more pronounced effect was shown in the subsequent treatment of sodium selenite with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. High doses of sodium selenite were effective to increase radiation therapy and chemotherapy, and further to reduce radiation side effects and drug resistance. In our study, advanced cancer patients can tolerate until 5000 μg of sodium selenite in combination with radiation and chemotherapy since the half-life of sodium selenite may be relatively short, and, further, selenium may accumulates more in cancer cells than that of normal cells, which may be toxic to the cancer cells. Further clinical studies of high amount sodium selenite are required to treat advanced cancer patients.
Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Glutathione; Humans; Methanol; Neoplasms; Organoselenium Compounds; Selenium Compounds; Sodium Selenite
PubMed: 34769276
DOI: 10.3390/ijms222111844 -
Sheng Wu Gong Cheng Xue Bao = Chinese... Jun 2023Methanol has become an attractive substrate for the biomanufacturing industry due to its abundant supply and low cost. The biotransformation of methanol to value-added... (Review)
Review
Methanol has become an attractive substrate for the biomanufacturing industry due to its abundant supply and low cost. The biotransformation of methanol to value-added chemicals using microbial cell factories has the advantages of green process, mild conditions and diversified products. These advantages may expand the product chain based on methanol and alleviate the current problem of biomanufacturing, which is competing with people for food. Elucidating the pathways involving methanol oxidation, formaldehyde assimilation and dissimilation in different natural methylotrophs is essential for subsequent genetic engineering modification, and is more conducive to the construction of novel non-natural methylotrophs. This review discusses the current status of research on methanol metabolic pathways in methylotrophs, and presents recent advances and challenges in natural and synthetic methylotrophs and their applications in methanol bioconversion.
Topics: Humans; Methanol; Metabolic Engineering; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Biotransformation
PubMed: 37401602
DOI: 10.13345/j.cjb.221010 -
Combinatorial Chemistry & High... 2021
Topics: Alkenes; Catalysis; Kinetics; Methanol; Nanocomposites; Natural Gas; Porosity
PubMed: 33820501
DOI: 10.2174/138620732404210331154047 -
FEMS Microbiology Reviews Mar 2021The production of bulk chemicals mostly depends on exhausting petroleum sources and leads to emission of greenhouse gases. Within the last decades the urgent need for... (Review)
Review
The production of bulk chemicals mostly depends on exhausting petroleum sources and leads to emission of greenhouse gases. Within the last decades the urgent need for alternative sources has increased and the development of bio-based processes received new attention. To avoid the competition between the use of sugars as food or fuel, other feedstocks with high availability and low cost are needed, which brought acetogenic bacteria into focus. This group of anaerobic organisms uses mixtures of CO2, CO and H2 for the production of mostly acetate and ethanol. Also methanol, a cheap and abundant bulk chemical produced from methane, is a suitable substrate for acetogenic bacteria. In methylotrophic acetogens the methyl group is transferred to the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, a pathway to reduce CO2 to acetate via a series of C1-intermediates bound to tetrahydrofolic acid. Here we describe the biochemistry and bioenergetics of methanol conversion in the biotechnologically interesting group of anaerobic, acetogenic bacteria. Further, the bioenergetics of biochemical production from methanol is discussed.
Topics: Acetates; Bacteria; Energy Metabolism; Ethanol; Green Chemistry Technology; Methanol
PubMed: 32901799
DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuaa040 -
Trends in Biotechnology Jun 2020The increasing availability and affordability of natural gas has renewed interest in using methanol for bioproduction of useful chemicals. Engineering synthetic... (Review)
Review
The increasing availability and affordability of natural gas has renewed interest in using methanol for bioproduction of useful chemicals. Engineering synthetic methylotrophy based on natural or artificial methanol assimilation pathways and genetically tractable platform microorganisms for methanol-based biomanufacturing is drawing particular attention. Recently, intensive efforts have been devoted to demonstrating the feasibility and improving the efficiency of synthetic methylotrophy. Various fuel, bulk, and fine chemicals have been synthesized using methanol as a feedstock. However, fully synthetic methylotrophs utilizing methanol as the sole carbon source and commercially viable bioproduction from methanol remain to be developed. Here, we review ongoing efforts to identify limiting factors, optimize synthetic methylotrophs, and implement methanol-based biomanufacturing. Future challenges and prospects are also discussed.
Topics: Bioreactors; Carbon; Metabolic Engineering; Methanol; Microorganisms, Genetically-Modified
PubMed: 31932066
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2019.12.013 -
World Journal of Microbiology &... Oct 2023Methanol, the simplest aliphatic molecule of the alcohol family, finds diverse range of applications as an industrial solvent, a precursor for producing other chemicals... (Review)
Review
Methanol, the simplest aliphatic molecule of the alcohol family, finds diverse range of applications as an industrial solvent, a precursor for producing other chemicals (e.g., dimethyl ether, acetic acid and formaldehyde), and a potential fuel. There are conventional chemical routes for methanol production such as, steam reforming of natural gas to form syngas, followed by catalytic conversion into methanol; direct catalytic oxidation of methane, or hydrogenation of carbon dioxide. However, these chemical routes are limited by the requirement for expensive catalysts and extreme process conditions, and plausible environmental implications. Alternatively, methanotrophic microorganisms are being explored as biological alternative for methanol production, under milder process conditions, bypassing the requirement for chemical catalysts, and without imposing any adverse environmental impact. Methanotrophs possess inherent metabolic pathways for methanol production via biological methane oxidation or carbon dioxide reduction, thus offering a surplus advantage pertaining to the sequestration of two major greenhouse gases. This review sheds light on the recent advances in methanotrophic methanol production including metabolic pathways, feedstocks, metabolic engineering, and bioprocess engineering approaches. Furthermore, various reactor configurations are discussed in view of the challenges associated with solubility and mass transfer limitations in methanotrophic gas fermentation systems.
Topics: Methanol; Carbon Dioxide; Methane; Formaldehyde; Solvents
PubMed: 37891430
DOI: 10.1007/s11274-023-03813-y -
Chemical Communications (Cambridge,... Jun 2023In recent times, the transition metal-catalyzed borrowing hydrogen (BH) and interrupted borrowing hydrogen (IBH) strategies have attracted much attention and represent... (Review)
Review
In recent times, the transition metal-catalyzed borrowing hydrogen (BH) and interrupted borrowing hydrogen (IBH) strategies have attracted much attention and represent atom- and step-economic processes to access diverse building blocks various C-C and C-heteroatom bond-forming reactions. The advantages of these approaches include (i) use of feedstock chemicals, (ii) high atom economy, (iii) no pre-activation of the substrates, and (iv) producing water as the only by-product. In this context, several synthetic strategies have been developed in this regime for the past few decades. To the best of our knowledge, no review article describes the important concepts of interrupted borrowing hydrogen (IBH) reaction. This review article highlights the recent advances in the IBH strategy and its application in sustainable chemical synthesis, particularly C-C bond formation using methanol as a C1 source, synthesis of 3,3'-bisindolylmethanes (3,3'-BIMs), α-branched ketones/diketones, and regioselective alkylation of N-heterocycles.
Topics: Hydrogen; Transition Elements; Alkylation; Methanol; Ketones; Catalysis
PubMed: 37259885
DOI: 10.1039/d3cc01517c -
Environmental Research Jul 2023Intoxication with methanol most commonly occurs as a consequence of ingesting, inhaling, or coming into contact with formulations that include methanol as a base.... (Review)
Review
Intoxication with methanol most commonly occurs as a consequence of ingesting, inhaling, or coming into contact with formulations that include methanol as a base. Clinical manifestations of methanol poisoning include suppression of the central nervous system, gastrointestinal symptoms, and decompensated metabolic acidosis, which is associated with impaired vision and either early or late blindness within 0.5-4 h after ingestion. After ingestion, methanol concentrations in the blood that are greater than 50 mg/dl should raise some concern. Ingested methanol is typically digested by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), and it is subsequently redistributed to the body's water to attain a volume distribution that is about equivalent to 0.77 L/kg. Moreover, it is removed from the body as its natural, unchanged parent molecules. Due to the fact that methanol poisoning is relatively uncommon but frequently involves a large number of victims at the same time, this type of incident occupies a special position in the field of clinical toxicology. The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in erroneous assumptions regarding the preventative capability of methanol in comparison to viral infection. More than 1000 Iranians fell ill, and more than 300 of them passed away in March of this year after they consumed methanol in the expectation that it would protect them from a new coronavirus. The Atlanta epidemic, which involved 323 individuals and resulted in the deaths of 41, is one example of mass poisoning. Another example is the Kristiansand outbreak, which involved 70 people and resulted in the deaths of three. In 2003, the AAPCC received reports of more than one thousand pediatric exposures. Since methanol poisoning is associated with high mortality rates, it is vital that the condition be addressed seriously and managed as quickly as feasible. The objective of this review was to raise awareness about the mechanism and metabolism of methanol toxicity, the introduction of therapeutic interventions such as gastrointestinal decontamination and methanol metabolism inhibition, the correction of metabolic disturbances, and the establishment of novel diagnostic/screening nanoparticle-based strategies for methanol poisoning such as the discovery of ADH inhibitors as well as the detection of the adulteration of alcoholic drinks by nanoparticles in order to prevent methanol poisoning. In conclusion, increasing warnings and knowledge about clinical manifestations, medical interventions, and novel strategies for methanol poisoning probably results in a decrease in the death load.
Topics: Humans; Child; Methanol; Pandemics; Iran; COVID-19; Poisoning
PubMed: 37072082
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115886