Blurred vision leading to nervous blindness is the only symptom of chronic
methanol intoxication that occurs following prolonged drinking some kinds
of herbal distillates and has been motivated serious anxieties. The methanol
content of these products is not usually measured which may be due to the lack
of applicable standards in this regard. In this study, the methanol concentrations
of some kinds of herbal distillates were quantified by two different methods to
define the most effective factors in the determination of methanol permitted dose
of these products. In this study, the methanol contents of 60 different samples
were examined by a newly designed kit and Gas Chromatography methods, and
finally, based on gained results some recommendations were presented about
how standardization of herbal distillates’ methanol content. All samples have
different concentrations of methanol that in some cases, their methanol content
seems enough for the creation of chronic methanol intoxication. Also, access to
an appropriate and efficient national standard for controlling of methanol content
of herbal distillates seems to be necessary.
