| Description | Methanol, also known as columbian spirit or CH3OH, belongs to the class of organic compounds known as primary alcohols. Primary alcohols are compounds comprising the primary alcohol functional group, with the general structure RCOH (R=alkyl, aryl). The target of methanol in the eye is the retina, specifically the optic disk and optic nerve. Toxicity is due to the metabolic products of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase. Methanol exists in all living organisms, ranging from bacteria to humans. Methanol is an alcoholic tasting compound. Outside of the human body, Methanol is found, on average, in the highest concentration within cow milk and sweet oranges. Methanol has also been detected, but not quantified in several different foods, such as prairie turnips, mountain yams, mentha (mint), watermelons, and pasta. Methanol is responsible for accidental, suicidal, and epidemic poisonings, resulting in death or permanent sequelae. Methanol is a potentially toxic compound. Visual disturbances develop between 18h to 48h after ingestion and range from mild photophobia and blurred vision to markedly reduced visual acuity and complete blindness. Methanol is metabolized to formaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase, then from that to formate by formaldehyde dehydrogenase, and then to carbon dioxide by limited H4 folate. It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colourless, flammable, poisonous liquid with a distinctive odor that is somewhat milder and sweeter than ethanol. |
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