Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (620 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
A colorless, flammable liquid used in the manufacture of formaldehyde and acetic acid, in chemical synthesis, antifreeze, and as a solvent. Ingestion of methanol is toxic and may cause blindness.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Alcohol, Methyl; Methyl Alcohol; Carbinol; Wood Alcohol; Alcohol, Wood; Sodium Methoxide; Methoxide, Sodium.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Alcohols
Related concepts
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 19,525 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Methanol” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 3,359 of them (17.2%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 5,947 records.
Reviews account for 508 records (2.6%) and meta-analyses for 5. Randomized controlled trials number 34 (0.2%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 5,947 |
| 2000-2009 | 4,281 |
| 2010-2019 | 5,938 |
| 2020 onward | 3,359 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 508 | 2.6% |
| Meta-analyses | 5 | 0.0% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 34 | 0.2% |
Method: PubMed query "Methanol"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in drugs and chemicals
Studies of a chemical or drug can answer very different questions: what it is and how it behaves in cells and animals, how the body handles it, and whether it changes outcomes in people. Laboratory and animal findings often do not carry over to patients, and observational studies of exposures are confounded by who uses a substance and why. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to use, avoid, start or stop any substance or medicine; talk to a qualified clinician or pharmacist about your own situation. Check the dose, the species, the comparison group and whether a patient-relevant outcome was measured.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homogeneous Catalysis for Sustainable Energy: Hydrogen and Methanol Economies, Fuels from Biomass, and Related Topics | 2022 | Review article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 185 | cc by PMID 34727501 · DOI · PMC8759071 |
| A modified serine cycle in Escherichia coli coverts methanol and CO2 to two-carbon compounds | 2018 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 132 | cc by PMID 30266898 · DOI · PMC6162302 |
| Methanol-essential growth of Escherichia coli | 2018 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 122 | cc by PMID 29666370 · DOI · PMC5904121 |
| Neuroecology of alcohol risk and reward: Methanol boosts pheromones and courtship success in Drosophila melanogaster | 2025 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 4 | cc by PMID 40173238 · DOI · PMC11963984 |
Homogeneous Catalysis for Sustainable Energy: Hydrogen and Methanol Economies, Fuels from Biomass, and Related Topics [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- As the world pledges to significantly cut carbon emissions, the demand for sustainable and clean energy has now become more important than ever.
- Closing excerpt
- Well-defined transition metal complexes, in particular, pincer complexes, have been discussed in more detail due to their high activity and well-studied mechanisms.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (178 words)
As the world pledges to significantly cut carbon emissions, the demand for sustainable and clean energy has now become more important than ever. This includes both production and storage of energy carriers, a majority of which involve catalytic reactions. This article reviews recent developments of homogeneous catalysts in emerging applications of sustainable energy. The most important focus has been on hydrogen storage as several efficient homogeneous catalysts have been reported recently for (de)hydrogenative transformations promising to the hydrogen economy. Another direction that has been extensively covered in this review is that of the methanol economy. Homogeneous catalysts investigated for the production of methanol from CO2, CO, and HCOOH have been discussed in detail. Moreover, catalytic processes for the production of conventional fuels (higher alkanes such as diesel, wax) from biomass or lower alkanes have also been discussed. A section has also been dedicated to the production of ethylene glycol from CO and H2 using homogeneous catalysts. Well-defined transition metal complexes, in particular, pincer complexes, have been discussed in more detail due to their high activity and well-studied mechanisms.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 34727501 · DOI · PMC8759071
A modified serine cycle in Escherichia coli coverts methanol and CO2 to two-carbon compounds [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Microbial utilization of renewable one-carbon compounds, such as methane, methanol, formic acid, and CO2, has emerged as a potential approach to increase the range of carbon sources for bioproduction and address climate change issues.
- Closing excerpt
- coli.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (145 words)
Microbial utilization of renewable one-carbon compounds, such as methane, methanol, formic acid, and CO2, has emerged as a potential approach to increase the range of carbon sources for bioproduction and address climate change issues. Here, we modify the natural serine cycle present in methylotrophs and build an adapted pathway for Escherichia coli, which allows microorganism to condense methanol (or formate) together with bicarbonate to produce various products. We introduce the modified cycle into E. coli and demonstrate its capability for one-carbon assimilation through growth complementation and isotope labeling experiments. We also demonstrate conversion of methanol to ethanol by utilizing the modified serine cycle in an engineered E. coli strain, achieving a reaction yet to be accomplished by a one-pot chemical process. This work provides a platform to utilize various renewable one-carbon compounds as carbon sources for biosynthesis through a modified serine cycle in E. coli.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 30266898 · DOI · PMC6162302
Methanol-essential growth of Escherichia coli [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Methanol represents an attractive substrate for biotechnological applications.
- Closing excerpt
- This study demonstrates a successful metabolic re-routing linked to a heterologous pathway to achieve methanol-dependent growth and represents a crucial step in generating a fully synthetic methylotrophic organism.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (148 words)
Methanol represents an attractive substrate for biotechnological applications. Utilization of reduced one-carbon compounds for growth is currently limited to methylotrophic organisms, and engineering synthetic methylotrophy remains a major challenge. Here we apply an in silico-guided multiple knockout approach to engineer a methanol-essential Escherichia coli strain, which contains the ribulose monophosphate cycle for methanol assimilation. Methanol conversion to biomass was stoichiometrically coupled to the metabolization of gluconate and the designed strain was subjected to laboratory evolution experiments. Evolved strains incorporate up to 24% methanol into core metabolites under a co-consumption regime and utilize methanol at rates comparable to natural methylotrophs. Genome sequencing reveals mutations in genes coding for glutathione-dependent formaldehyde oxidation (frmA), NAD(H) homeostasis/biosynthesis (nadR), phosphopentomutase (deoB), and gluconate metabolism (gntR). This study demonstrates a successful metabolic re-routing linked to a heterologous pathway to achieve methanol-dependent growth and represents a crucial step in generating a fully synthetic methylotrophic organism.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 29666370 · DOI · PMC5904121
Neuroecology of alcohol risk and reward: Methanol boosts pheromones and courtship success in Drosophila melanogaster [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Attraction of Drosophila melanogaster toward by-products of alcoholic fermentation, especially ethanol, has been extensively studied.
- Closing excerpt
- Moreover, we demonstrate that methanol can be deadly, and adult flies must therefore accurately weigh the trade-off between benefits and costs for exposure within their naturally fermented and alcohol-rich environments.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (149 words)
Attraction of Drosophila melanogaster toward by-products of alcoholic fermentation, especially ethanol, has been extensively studied. Previous research has provided several interpretations of this attraction, including potential drug abuse, or a self-medicating coping strategy after mate rejection. We posit that the ecologically adaptive value of alcohol attraction has not been fully explored. Here, we assert a simple yet vital biological rationale for this alcohol preference. Flies display attraction to fruits rich in alcohol, specifically ethanol and methanol, where contact results in a rapid amplification of fatty acid-derived pheromones that enhance courtship success. We also identify olfactory sensory neurons that detect these alcohols, where we reveal roles in both attraction and aversion, and show that valence is balanced around alcohol concentration. Moreover, we demonstrate that methanol can be deadly, and adult flies must therefore accurately weigh the trade-off between benefits and costs for exposure within their naturally fermented and alcohol-rich environments.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 40173238 · DOI · PMC11963984
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Heterologous protein expression in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris [5]
- Research article American Academy of Clinical Toxicology practice guidelines on the treatment of methanol poisoning [6]
- Research article The expanding world of methylotrophic metabolism [7]
- Research article Modularity of methylotrophy, revisited [8]
- Research article Methanol and ethylene glycol poisonings. Mechanism of toxicity, clinical course, diagnosis and treatment [9]
- Research article Renewable methanol and formate as microbial feedstocks [10]
References
- Kumar A, Daw P, Milstein D. Homogeneous Catalysis for Sustainable Energy: Hydrogen and Methanol Economies, Fuels from Biomass, and Related Topics. . 2022. PMID 34727501 · DOI · PMC8759071
- Yu H, Liao JC. A modified serine cycle in Escherichia coli coverts methanol and CO2 to two-carbon compounds. . 2018. PMID 30266898 · DOI · PMC6162302
- Meyer F, Keller P, Hartl J, Gröninger OG, Kiefer P, Vorholt JA. Methanol-essential growth of Escherichia coli. . 2018. PMID 29666370 · DOI · PMC5904121
- Keesey IW, Doll G, Chakraborty SD, Baschwitz A, Lemoine M, Kaltenpoth M, et al.. Neuroecology of alcohol risk and reward: Methanol boosts pheromones and courtship success in Drosophila melanogaster. . 2025. PMID 40173238 · DOI · PMC11963984
- Cereghino JL, Cregg JM. Heterologous protein expression in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2000. PMID 10640598 · DOI
- Barceloux DG, Bond GR, Krenzelok EP, Cooper H, Vale JA, American Academy of Clinical Toxicology Ad Hoc Committee on the Treatment Guidelines for Methanol Poisoning. American Academy of Clinical Toxicology practice guidelines on the treatment of methanol poisoning. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 2002. PMID 12216995 · DOI
- Chistoserdova L, Kalyuzhnaya MG, Lidstrom ME. The expanding world of methylotrophic metabolism. Annu Rev Microbiol. 2009. PMID 19514844 · DOI · PMC2827926
- Chistoserdova L. Modularity of methylotrophy, revisited. Environ Microbiol. 2011. PMID 21443740 · DOI
- Jacobsen D, McMartin KE. Methanol and ethylene glycol poisonings. Mechanism of toxicity, clinical course, diagnosis and treatment. Med Toxicol. 1986. PMID 3537623 · DOI
- Cotton CA, Claassens NJ, Benito-Vaquerizo S, Bar-Even A. Renewable methanol and formate as microbial feedstocks. Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2020. PMID 31733545 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.