Brett -- teaching an old goat new tricks

I’ve read somewhere that Brettanomyces yeast has the ability to remain dormant for a long time (even years) and then ‘all of a sudden” start its activity in the cellar (tanks, barrels, filters, etc) or in the bottle.

Salute

Methanol poisonings causes significant morbidity in the United States annually, and even relatively small ingestions of this alcohol can produce significant toxicity.

The "parent alcohol" (methanol) is relatively nontoxic, and causes mainly central nervous system sedation. However, when this parent alcohol is oxidized (primarily by alcohol dehydrogenase) profound toxicity ensues.

Formate causes retinal injury with optic disc hyperemia, edema, and eventually permanent blindness, as well as ischemic or hemorrhagic injury to the basal ganglia. These changes are postulated to result from disruption of mitochondrial function. Complaints of visual blurring, central scotomata, and blindness suggest methanol poisoning.

Keep in mind that the general population is routinely exposed to low levels from metabolic processes and from such dietary sources as fruits, vegetables, fruit juices, and foods and soft-drinks containing the synthetic sweetener aspartame.

Serious toxicity has been reported following ingestions of as little as 8 g of methanol. Although data on the health effects of chronic exposure are limited, one report cites evidence of visual disturbances observed in workers exposed to high concentrations of methanol vapors. The report found no evidence of carcinogenic, genotoxic, reproductive, or developmental effects in humans attributed to methanol exposure.

Randy,
Were you aware that Velcorin has been in use in fruit juice products in the U.S. for a considerable legth of time? So my finding out that its use in wine of late is not unprecendented.
What is interesting is that Velcorin breaks down into these two compounds, methanol being one of them.
I am informed elsewhere that the dose that occurs as a result of this in a bottle of wine is acceptable under current guidelines and is relatively low (approx. 200 ppm), especially considering that most red wine fermentations result in some methanol being a part of the finished wine.
I am still unclear about what the cummulative effects of methanol consumption are, even at such "acceptable" doses. And whether it accumulates in human tissue or is excreted from the body - thus making each dose a "new" one.
Thoughts?
Best, Jim

Methanol breakdown results in the formation of formic acid (the same as in ant bites) and formaldehyde. Formic acid is readily metabolized and eliminated by the body. Animal experiments have demonstrated it to be a mutagen, and chronic exposure may cause liver or kidney damage as well as dermatitis. Formaldehyde is a common household pollutant and is found in tobacco smoke as well. It is known to cause dermatitis and asthma with chronic exposure.

My personal opinion is that levels in wine are so low as to be insignificant. I haven't done the math, but 200 ppm is far from the 8 g toxic dose, and well below reported levels in industrial exposures. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised ATF that 0.1 percent of methanol by volume in wine was a safe level. Any wine containing methanol in excess of this amount is deemed adulterated pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. 34l(a)(2)(C) and 348.

I can find nothing in the medical literature that these metabolites are cumulative (such as the mad hatters from mercury exposure). I'll keep pulling corks...

I believe the words "wood alcohol" describe the havoc that methanol can create. Am I right Randy?

Am I missing a joke here? Wood alcohol is a synonym for methanol because it was first isolated from rotting vegetation. The name methanol is a back formation from methyl alcohol, where the term methyl is derived from Greek roots (methu- + hule) meaning "wood wine." The name methyl alcohol is discouraged today, but it's also etymologically redundant since alcohol is derived from the Arabic "al kuhl" meaning "spirits."

Mark Lipton

Methanol breakdown results in the formation of formic acid (the same as in ant bites) and formaldehyde. Formic acid is readily metabolized and eliminated by the body. Animal experiments have demonstrated it to be a mutagen, and chronic exposure may cause liver or kidney damage as well as dermatitis. Formaldehyde is a common household pollutant and is found in tobacco smoke as well. It is known to cause dermatitis and asthma with chronic exposure.

My personal opinion is that levels in wine are so low as to be insignificant. I haven't done the math, but 200 ppm is far from the 8 g toxic dose, and well below reported levels in industrial exposures. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised ATF that 0.1 percent of methanol by volume in wine was a safe level. Any wine containing methanol in excess of this amount is deemed adulterated pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. 34l(a)(2)(C) and 348.

I can find nothing in the medical literature that these metabolites are cumulative (such as the mad hatters from mercury exposure). I'll keep pulling corks...

Randy,
This the kind of information I was searching for.
I owe you a big one.
Best, Jim

I believe the words "wood alcohol" describe the havoc that methanol can create. Am I right Randy?

Am I missing a joke here? Wood alcohol is a synonym for methanol because it was first isolated from rotting vegetation. The name methanol is a back formation from methyl alcohol, where the term methyl is derived from Greek roots (methu- + hule) meaning "wood wine." The name methyl alcohol is discouraged today, but it's also etymologically redundant since alcohol is derived from the Arabic "al kuhl" meaning "spirits."

Mark Lipton

Mark, it was a veiled reference to one of the joys associated with Prohibition...

This Velcorin product sounds very familiar to Lysozyme. Lysozyme is a naturally occurring enzyme extracted from egg whites which can be used to control the activity of certain strains of Lactic-Acid Bacteria. Lysozyme like Velcorin degrades the cell wall of the organism. However it is only effective against gram-positive bacteria and not effective against gram-negative bacteria such as Acetobacter and has no activity against yeast. (Gram-positive and gram- negative refers to a process known as the Gram Stain Process, which identifies the differences in cell wall structure. Gram-positive bacteria are those which retain a crystal violet dye, gram-negative bacteria do not).

Salute

I owe you a big one.

You've paid me many times over with some of your wine recommendations from the Loire and Beaujolais. I think I'm in your debt.

Lysozyme like Velcorin degrades the cell wall of the organism.

Victor, unless I missed something (always possible) Velcorin doesn't attack the cell wall but rather inhibits several key metabolic enzymes.

Maybe I’m wrong Mark, but these single cell microbes are one heck of a resilient living creature. To be an effective microbe controlling agent the first and foremost thing is you must penetrate the cell wall. I always thought that such organisms (not all of them ,but quite a few of them) if their environment becomes too hostile, they have the ability to shut down their cell walls and remain in a dormant state, until their environment becomes more favorable. One can “slow” their activity down SO2, Temp, pH, alcohol, etc, but the real trick is to totally eliminate them from the wine, I guess cross-filtration and sterile filtration will help do the trick. Besides their “immediate world” could be a single drop of must or juice.

Salute

Maybe I’m wrong Mark, but these single cell microbes are one heck of a resilient living creature. To be an effective microbe controlling agent the first and foremost thing is you must penetrate the cell wall.

That's certainly true, but small antibiotic molecules such as this can traverse the cell wall easily, as it must also allow the passage of nutrients such as sugars and amino acids.

I always thought that such organisms (not all of them ,but quite a few of them) if their environment becomes too hostile, they have the ability to shut down their cell walls and remain in a dormant state, until their environment becomes more favorable.

True, but that requires a fairly drastic change in evironment, certainly far more so than the introduction of a molecule like this would amount to. The easiest way to produce these "spore" forms is to remove the bacterium from water: put it in a dry environment and it'll rapidly go dormant.

One can “slow” their activity down SO2, Temp, pH, alcohol, etc, but the real trick is to totally eliminate them from the wine, I guess cross-filtration and sterile filtration will help do the trick. Besides their “immediate world” could be a single drop of must or juice.

Both SO2 and alcohol are toxic to bacteria. That's why you can store a distilled spirit almost indefinitely without worry of spoilage. Additionally, that's why wine and beer were considered safer to drink than water throughout most of human history. That's also the reason that a nurse will swab your skin with rubbing alcohol prior to giving you an injection: it wipes out the Staph aureus that lives on your skin. When I was taking biology in high school, we'd wipe down our benches every day with (denatured) ethanol to sterilize them for just that reason.

Mark Lipton