Quantitative Analysis of Methanol and Ethanol in Traditional Handmade Herbal Distillates in Iranian market

Abstract

Background and purpose: Medicinal plants are among highly consumed natural drugs. Many herb shops produce and sell this products without any license. Traditional herbal distillates are widely used in Iran, so, the aim of this study was to determine ethanol and methanol concentrations in handmade herbal distillates in Tehran herb shops. Materials and methods: A total of 140 samples from 14 traditional handmade herbal distillates were obtained from Tehran herb shops and analyzed using headspace gas chromatography. Results: In this study, no sample contained ethanol. Peppermint distillate had significantly higher methanol content (334.62±153 ppm) compared with other distillates (P<0.05). Also, high amounts of methanol were found in Fenugreek (321.43 ppm) and Tarragon (311.39 ppm) distillates. Pennyroyal distillate did not contain methanol and rose water had the lowest methanol content (14.61 ppm). Conclusion: Handmade herbal distillates containing high concentrations of methanol can cause health problems in regular consumers. Therefore, highly consumed herbal distillates should be monitored to determine their methanol concentration.

Keywords

• herbal distillates
• ethanol
• methanol
• headspace gas chromatography
• analytical toxicology