Formic acid, which is also known as methanoic acid, is an irritating chemical present in the venom of many ant species. Formic acid is very dangerous at high concentrations, but at low concentrations it has some benefits. Humans use formic acid as a food preservative since it is antibacterial. It ’s also used as a pesticide, to produce food or cosmetic additives and in a variety of industrial processes.
Our bodies make formic acid from the methanol that we ingest, inhale or produce. Some of the methanol produced in the body is made from aspartame. The body breaks down aspartame into aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. The methanol is then converted into formic acid.
Formic Acid in Ants
Formic acid got its name from “formica”, the Latin name for ant. An English naturalist named John Ray was the first person to isolate formic acid from ants. In 1671 he distilled the crushed bodies of dead ants to extract an acid, which was eventually named formic acid.
Ants bite to protect themselves or to attack other creatures. They grab hold of their victim with their mandibles (jaws). Many species of ants then sting the victim. The stinger is located at the tip of the abdomen and injects a poison that contains formic acid. Instead of stinging, some ants release a spray containing a mixture of chemicals, including formic acid, from the end of their abdomens. Some ants bite but do not sting or spray toxic chemicals.
The sting of fire ants contains alkaloids and some proteins, but no formic acid. A fire ant bites to grab hold of a person’s skin, then tucks its abdomen under its body so that the stinger can reach the skin and inject its chemicals. The fire ant then withdraws its stinger, rotates a short distance and then stings again, repeating the process until it has formed a circle of stings.
Formic Acid in Anteaters
Anteaters are mammals with long, tubular snouts. As its name implies, an anteater eats ants, but also ingests termites and other insects. An anteater has no teeth and swallows pebbles along with insects, which are thought to help break up the anteater ’s food as the food is churned in the muscular stomach. The stomach of humans and other mammals contains hydrochloric acid, which helps the digestion process. The stomach of anteaters, however, doesn ’t contain hydrochloric acid. An anteater gets the acid that its stomach needs from the ants in its diet.
Formic Acid in Stinging Nettles
The leaves of stinging nettles – especially the undersides – and the stems as well are covered with hollow, stinging hairs which have silica walls. When the hairs are touched, the tip comes off, exposing a needle-like structure which is attached to a venom sac at the base of the hair. The needle then injects the venom into the victim ’s skin.
The poison of stinging nettles contains formic acid, although scientists have discovered that other chemicals are also present, which probably contribute to the painful sting. These chemicals include acetylcholine, serotonin and histamine. Histamine is the chemical that is released into our bloodstream from mast cells during an allergic reaction. The histamine causes inflammation, swelling and redness. The stinging hairs of some nettles contain oxalic acid and tartaric acid instead of a mixture containing formic acid.
Formic Acid Structure and Properties
Formic acid is the simplest member of the carboxylic acid family and has the molecular formula HCOOH. A molecule of formic acid is composed of a carboxyl group (COOH) with a hydrogen atom attached. In the carboxyl group the carbon atom has a double bond joining it to the oxygen atom and a single bond joining it to the hydroxyl (OH) group.
Formic acid can be made synthetically in laboratories. It’s colorless and in nature usually exists in its liquid form. Formic acid freezes at 8.3 degrees Celsius and boils at 100.7 degrees Celsius. It has a strong odor and is often described as having a “pungent” smell.
Formic Acid Uses
Since formic acid is an antibacterial agent, it’s frequently added to the feed of farm animals to prevent the growth of bacteria and is occasionally used as a preservative in human foods. Formic acid is also used to create artificial flavors for foods and drinks and artificial scents for perfumes. In addition, formic acid is used in leather tanning, in the processing of textiles and paper and in the conversion of latex from the rubber tree into rubber.
Some birds place living ants amongst their feathers. The formic acid that the ants release kills mites that are attacking the bird ’s skin. Humans use formic acid for a similar purpose. Formic acid preparations are used to kill varroa and tracheal mites which invade honeybee hives and attack the bees.
Formic Acid Dangers
The dangers of formic acid depend on its concentration. At higher concentrations formic acid is corrosive, has a strong smell and produces dangerous fumes. It produces burns and blisters on the skin and injures the eyes and the mucous membranes in the mouth, throat and respiratory system. Inhaling concentrated formic acid makes it hard for a person to breathe. Swallowing the concentrated acid causes severe ulcers (sores) to appear in the digestive tract, as well as pain and nausea. Prolonged exposure to formic acid may produce liver or kidney damage.
Methanol Poisoning and Formic Acid
Methanol is made in our bodies from normal metabolic processes and enters the body in the fruits and vegetables that we eat. In addition, humans produce methanol as well as aspartic acid and phenylalanine from the breakdown of aspartame, an artificial sweetener.
Inside our bodies methanol is converted to formaldehyde, which is classified as a probable human carcinogen (cancer causer). However, the formaldehyde is rapidly transformed into formic acid and doesn ’t collect in the body. The formic acid then leaves the body in urine, or is changed into carbon dioxide and water.
Scientists say that the production of formic acid from methanol in humans only becomes a problem if there is a large amount of methanol in the body, as there would be in methanol poisoning. In this situation enough formic acid would be made to create a condition called acidosis. Symptoms of acidosis can include vision problems, blindness, memory loss, confusion, seizures, coma, low blood pressure and cardiac arrest.
Although we can ’t avoid the creation of methanol in our bodies or its entry into the body from foods like fruits and vegetables, which should be part of our diet, we can control whether we want to add to the methanol load by ingesting foods or drinks sweetened by aspartame. A person ’s normal exposure to methanol, including the methanol produced from aspartame, is ”unlikely” to cause health problems, say researchers. They also say that aspartame is “safe”, provided the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of 40 mg/kg body weight (Europe and Canada) or 50mg/kg body weight (United States) is not exceeded.
Aspartame should not be consumed by people suffering from a disorder called phenylketonuria. A person suffering from this disorder, which is caused by a genetic error, is unable to create the enzyme that changes phenylalanine into tyrosine. As a result, phenylalanine accumulates in the body. People with phenylketonuria must follow a low phenylalanine diet to avoid brain damage.
Formic Acid in Space
Scientists think that formic acid may have played a role in the origin of life on Earth. The acid was first found in interstellar space in 1970 and has been found in meteorites that have reached Earth from space. Formic acid has a relatively simple structure and may have been involved in the formation of the more complicated amino acid and nucleic acid molecules found in living things.
Amino acids are the “building blocks” of the proteins inside living things, and nucleic acids are the building blocks of DNA and RNA. DNA contains genetic instructions for making our bodies and for controlling its functions. DNA is located in the nucleus of cells. The code in the DNA “tells” the body what proteins to make. RNA has several vital roles in the body, including “reading” the DNA’s instructions for making proteins, transporting these instructions out of the nucleus to the site of protein synthesis in the cell and then enabling the cell to make the proteins.
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